| impedance [im`pēd·ǝns] ELECTRICITY See <<electrical impedance>> PHYSICS 1. The ratio of a sinusoidally varying quantity to a second quantity which measures the response of a physical system to the first, both being considered in complex notation; examples are electrical impedance, acoustic impedance, and mechanical impedance. Also known as complex impedance. 2. The ratio of the greatest magnitude of a sinusoidally varying quantity to the greatest magnitude of a second quantity which measures the response of a physical system to the first; equal to the magnitude of the quantity in the first definition. |