Admittance

In electrical engineering, the admittance (Y) is a measure of how easily a circuit or device will allow a current to flow. It is defined as the inverse of the impedance (Z). The SI unit of admittance is the siemens (symbol S). Oliver Heaviside coined the term in December 1887.

where

Y is the admittance, measured in siemens

Z is the impedance, measured in ohms

Note that the synonymous unit mho, and the symbol ℧ (an upside-down uppercase omega Ω), are also in common use.

Resistance is a measure of the opposition of a circuit to the flow of a steady current, while impedance takes into account not only the resistance but also dynamic effects (known as reactance). Likewise, admittance is not only a measure of the ease with which a steady current can flow, but also the dynamic effects of the material's susceptance to polarization:

where

• is the admittance, measured in siemens (a.k.a. mho, the inverse of ohm).
• is the conductance, measured in siemens.
• is the susceptance, measured in siemens.