Capterra Glossary
Impedance
Impedance describes the combined effect of resistance and reactance in an electrical circuit. Resistance is the hindrance of an electrical current by a resistor (an electrical component that regulates the flow of an electrical current). Reactance is the hindrance of a change within an electrical current by an inductor (an electrical component that stores energy in the form of a magnetic field) or capacitor (an electrical component that stores electrical energy in an electric field).
Without impedance, the capacitors that control and regulate the electrical flow that power electronic devices or building electrical systems would not be able to function properly, resulting in fried electrical circuits.
What Small and Midsize Businesses Need to Know About Impedance
Small and midsize manufacturers that produce electronic devices such as internet of things (IoT)-enabled devices and home appliances use the concept of impedance to ensure that their devices can properly regulate electrical charges. Without impedance, devices such as radios, lamps, smartwatches, televisions, and other alternating current (AC) devices wouldn't be able to regulate the electrical charges that power them, deeming them unusable or subject to combustion.
Related Terms
- Synchronous
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Intranet
- Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR)
- Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Managed Service Provider (MSP)
- Haptics
- WAN (Wide-Area Network)
- Service-oriented Architecture (SOA)
- Augmented Reality (AR)
- Chief Information Officer (CIO)
- Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Service-Level Agreement (SLA)
- Scalability
- Data Center
- Authorization
- Multitenancy