Joperfi,
Impedance is a complex number - that is "complex" in the
mathematical sense - it has two components. The "real"
component is the resistance. The imaginary component -
which is the coefficient of "i" where "i" is the square
root of -1 [ yes I know they tell you in school that you
can't take the square root of a negative number - but the
concept exists in higher mathematics] and will be the amount
of capacitance, inductance, or "reactance" as Sean explained.
Think of impedance like a sailor thinks of his position -
there's both longitude and lattitude. Now lattitude will
tell him some things - like whether he's in the tropics
or a temperate region - but longitude is important too.
Impedance is a complex number - that is "complex" in the
mathematical sense - it has two components. The "real"
component is the resistance. The imaginary component -
which is the coefficient of "i" where "i" is the square
root of -1 [ yes I know they tell you in school that you
can't take the square root of a negative number - but the
concept exists in higher mathematics] and will be the amount
of capacitance, inductance, or "reactance" as Sean explained.
Think of impedance like a sailor thinks of his position -
there's both longitude and lattitude. Now lattitude will
tell him some things - like whether he's in the tropics
or a temperate region - but longitude is important too.