506 Electrical Circuit Theory and Technology
Since Q
r
D f
r
/f
2
f
1
,
Bandwidth, . f
2
− f
1
/ D
f
r
Q
r
D
10000
125.66
D 79.6Hz
An alternative equation involving f
r
At the lower half-power frequency f
1
:
1
ω
1
C
ω
1
L D R
At the higher half-power frequency f
2
: ω
2
L
1
ω
2
C
D R
Equating gives:
1
ω
1
C
ω
1
L D ω
2
L
1
ω
2
C
Multiplying throughout by C gives:
1
ω
1
ω
1
LC D ω
2
LC
1
ω
2
However, for series resonance, ω
2
r
D 1/LC
Hence
1
ω
1
ω
1
ω
2
r
D
ω
2
ω
2
r
1
ω
2
i.e.,
1
ω
1
C
1
ω
2
D
ω
2
ω
2
r
C
ω
1
ω
2
r
D
ω
1
C ω
2
ω
2
r
Therefore
ω
2
C ω
1
ω
1
ω
2
D
ω
1
C ω
2
ω
2
r
,
from which, ω
2
r
D ω
1
ω
2
or ω
r
D
p
ω
1
ω
2
Hence 2f
r
D
p
[2f
1
2f
2
]and
f
r
=
p
.f
1
f
2
/
28.11
Selectivity is the ability of a circuit to respond more readily to signals of
a particular frequency to which it is tuned than to signals of other frequen-
cies. The response becomes progressively weaker as the frequency departs
from the resonant frequency. Discrimination against other signals becomes
more pronounced as circuit losses are reduced, i.e., as the Q-factor is
increased. Thus Q
r
D f
r
/f
2
f
1
is a measure of the circuit selec-
tivity in terms of the points on each side of resonance where the circuit
current has fallen to 0.707 of its maximum value reached at resonance.
The higher the Q-factor, the narrower the bandwidth and the more selec-
tive is the circuit. Circuits having high Q-factors (say, in the order 300)
are therefore useful in communications engineering. A high Q-factor in a
series power circuit has disadvantages in that it can lead to dangerously
high voltages across the insulation and may result in electrical breakdown.
For example, suppose that the working voltage of a capacitor is stated
as 1 kV and is used in a circuit having a supply voltage of 240 V. The
maximum value of the supply will be
p
2240, i.e., 340 V. The working
voltage of the capacitor would appear to be ample. However, if the Q-
factor is, say, 10, the voltage across the capacitor will reach 2.4 kV.