Why Reactor named as Reactor?

[IndianTechEngg1001]

Reactor is an inductive device then why it is called a Reactor?

 

[jghrist]

It reacts to an increase in current in a way that opposes the increase.

 

[Skogsgurra]

It consumes reactive power as opposed to a resistor that consumes active power. So, it was probably also natural to call it a reactor.

Why, then, isn't a capacitor also called a reactor? Because it was named after its ability to store (its capacity) electric charge. Nomenclature isn't always symmetrical or logical. It has evolved for a couple of hundred years and is not very consistent across different languages.

For example, a reactor is called a 'self' in French. The French borrowed the English words 'Self Inductance' and skipped the last part. There are loads of other examples in loads of other languages.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[ijl]

resistance => resistor,
reactance => reactor

maybe..

 

[rbulsara]

What is wrong with it?

Rafiq Bulsara

http://www.srengineersct.com

 

[Skogsgurra]

I suppose Indian thinks it should be called an Inductor, which it also is. So, nothing wrong with it, I think.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[waross]

A reactor consumes reactive current. My old text books referred to inductive reactance and capacitive reactance.
Inductive reactance opposes a change in current.
Capacitive reactance opposes a change in voltage.
With AC, the voltage and current are continually changing and as a result, reactance causes a phase shift.
Although reactance may be inductive or capacitive, the term reactor generally refers to an inductive device.

Bill
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"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[MAGTiger]

And then there are "Chokes". To me a reactor is a 3 phase AC inductor operated at 50/60hz. A choke is a DC device. And an inductor encompasses these 2 items and everything else that adheres to the equation V=L*di/dt. But that's just my terminology.

For another monkey wrench, I've also seen the value of reactors specified in KVAR. Capacitors are sometimes specified by KVAR

Neil