A factor that is associated with a resonant circuit and describes both the ability of the circuit to produce a large output at the resonant frequency and the selectivity of the circuit. The Q factor is defined as
or alternatively as
In the case of a simple series resonant circuit at the resonant frequency,
and the Q factor is given by
where ω0 is 2π times the resonant frequency f0 and L, C, and R are respectively the inductance, capacitance, and resistance of the circuit.
The selectivity of a resonant circuit can be written as
where BW is the difference in frequency between the two 3 dB points.
A single reactive component may be capable of resonance without any other components, i.e. if the self-capacitance of an inductance coil or the self-inductance of a capacitor is sufficiently large. The Q factor of a single component is defined as the ratio of the reactance to the effective series resistance of the component, hence for an inductance
and for a capacitor