reactive component

reactive component

[rē′ak·tiv kəm′pō·nənt] (electricity) In the phasor representation of quantities in an alternating-current circuit, the component of current, voltage, or apparent power which does not contribute power, and which results from inductive or capacitive reactance in the circuit, namely, the reactive current, reactive voltage, or reactive power. Also known as idle component; quadrature component; wattless component.