Elastance
inverse of the electric capacitance
Electrical elastance is the reciprocal of capacitance. The SI unit of elastance is the inverse farad (F−1). The concept is not widely used by electrical and electronic engineers, as the value of capacitors is typically specified in units of capacitance rather than inverse capacitance. However, elastance is used in theoretical work in network analysis and has some niche applications, particularly at microwave frequencies.
The term elastance was coined by Oliver Heaviside through the analogy of a capacitor to a spring. The term is also used for analogous quantities in other energy domains. In the mechanical domain, it corresponds to stiffness, and it is the inverse of compliance in the fluid flow domain, especially in physiology. It is also the name of the generalized quantity in bond-graph analysis and other schemes that analyze systems across multiple domains.
Usage
The definition of capacitance (C) is the charge (Q) stored per unit voltage (V).
C
=
Q
V
{\displaystyle C={Q \over V}}
Elastance (S) is the reciprocal of capacitance, thus,
S
=
V
Q
.
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