Inductive Reactance Calculator
Reviewed by Hamza Gujjar, Algorithm Architect & Software Developer
Last updated: July 27, 2026What inductive reactance measures
Inductive reactance is an inductor's opposition to alternating current, and it behaves as the mirror image of capacitive reactance: rather than falling with frequency, it rises.
Worked example
For a 50mH inductor at 60Hz:
XL = 2π x f x L = 2π x 60 x 0.05 = 18.85 ohms
Because XL rises with frequency while Xc falls with frequency, engineers combine inductors and capacitors together to build filters that selectively pass or block specific frequency bands - the frequency where XL equals Xc is called the resonant frequency of the circuit.
Inductors are commonly found in transformers, motor windings, and chokes used to suppress high-frequency electrical noise, precisely because their opposition to current grows as frequency increases.