Q Factor - Definition of The Quality Factor

Definition of The Quality Factor

In the context of resonators, Q is defined in terms of the ratio of the energy stored in the resonator to the energy supplied by a generator, per cycle, to keep signal amplitude constant, at a frequency (the resonant frequency), fr, where the stored energy is constant with time:

Q = 2 \pi \times \frac{\mbox{Energy Stored}}{\mbox{Energy dissipated per cycle}} = 2 \pi f_r \times \frac{\mbox{Energy Stored}}{\mbox{Power Loss}}. \,

The factor 2π makes Q expressible in simpler terms, involving only the coefficients of the second-order differential equation describing most resonant systems, electrical or mechanical. In electrical systems, the stored energy is the sum of energies stored in lossless inductors and capacitors; the lost energy is the sum of the energies dissipated in resistors per cycle. In mechanical systems, the stored energy is the maximum possible stored energy, or the total energy, i.e. the sum of the potential and kinetic energies at some point in time; the lost energy is the work done by an external conservative force, per cycle, to maintain amplitude.

For high values of Q, the following definition is also mathematically accurate:

where fr is the resonant frequency, Δf is the half-power bandwidth i.e. the bandwidth over which the power of vibration is greater than half the power at the resonant frequency, ωr = 2πfr is the angular resonant frequency, and Δω is the angular half-power bandwidth.

More generally and in the context of reactive component specification (especially inductors), the frequency-dependent definition of Q is used:

Q(\omega) = \omega \times \frac{\mbox{Maximum Energy Stored}}{\mbox{Power Loss}}, \,

where ω is the angular frequency at which the stored energy and power loss are measured. This definition is consistent with its usage in describing circuits with a single reactive element (capacitor or inductor), where it can be shown to be equal to the ratio of reactive power to real power. (See Individual reactive components.)

Read more about this topic:  Q Factor

Famous quotes containing the words definition of, definition, quality and/or factor:

    “Although there is no universal agreement as to a definition of life, its biological manifestations are generally considered to be organization, metabolism, growth, irritability, adaptation, and reproduction.”
    —The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, the first sentence of the article on “life” (based on wording in the First Edition, 1935)

    “The very definition of the real becomes: that of which it is possible to give an equivalent reproduction.... The real is not only what can be reproduced, but that which is always already reproduced. The hyperreal.”
    —Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)

    “All morality depends upon our sentiments; and when any action or quality of the mind pleases us after a certain manner we say it is virtuous; and when the neglect or nonperformance of it displeases us after a like manner, we say that we lie under an obligation to perform it.”
    —David Hume (1711–1776)

    “In his very rejection of art Walt Whitman is an artist. He tried to produce a certain effect by certain means and he succeeded.... He stands apart, and the chief value of his work is in its prophecy, not in its performance. He has begun a prelude to larger themes. He is the herald to a new era. As a man he is the precursor of a fresh type. He is a factor in the heroic and spiritual evolution of the human being. If Poetry has passed him by, Philosophy will take note of him.”
    —Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)