What term describes a capacitor or inductor's ability to limit current in an alternating current (A.C.) circuit?

The term that describes a capacitor or inductor's ability to limit current in an alternating current (A.C.) circuit is reactance. Reactance specifically refers to the opposition to the flow of alternating current caused by capacitors and inductors.

In A.C. circuits, the behavior of capacitors and inductors differs from direct current (D.C.) circuits. Capacitors store energy in the form of an electric field and exhibit capacitive reactance, which decreases with increasing frequency, allowing more current to pass through at higher frequencies. Inductors, on the other hand, store energy in a magnetic field and exhibit inductive reactance, which increases with frequency, opposing the current flow more significantly at higher frequencies.

Reactance is frequency-dependent and can be viewed as the "dynamic resistance" in A.C. circuits. Unlike resistance, which is a constant opposition to current regardless of frequency, reactance varies with the rate of the current's oscillation. This property is essential for understanding how capacitors and inductors behave in A.C. applications, such as filters and oscillators.

Resistance, while related to energy loss in the form of heat and considered in both A.C. and D.C. circuits, does not account for the