sophiecentaur said:
I can see why that could make you cross. However, 'we' have been trying to present you with a number of opinions about the meaning of Resistance.
Yes I understand that and that's helpful.
sophiecentaur said:
A piece of solid carbon with wires at each end is a very straightforward example of resistance which will present the same value of resistance over a wide range of frequencies and currents. That resistance value here is just a description of Energy Transfer; Electrical to Thermal. The same thing happens in a radiator of EM waves.
Yes, makes sense, I am clear on that. As long as energy is absorbed, it then gets converted to another form of energy, thermal, or EM waves, or whatever. And for the energy to be absorbed, the resistance has to be active, otherwise some of it will be reflected. It may or may not be a bad thing depending on the "device" in question.
sophiecentaur said:
There is another example which might help you and that is an electric motor. When you are lifting a load with an electric motor, you will be able to measure the V and the I and it will present a Resistance to the power supply. There is (ideally) no thermal dissipation in the motor (or in the wires of an antenna) and the resistance that's presented will vary with the load (or the gearing mechanism / motor speed). These are similar in essence to the matching network on an antenna.
But an electric motor is an inherently inductive device. So it is almost purely reactive. It converts electrical energy to mechanical energy via the induced EM field (Lorentz force). If I understand correctly, it is seen as a varying "resistance" because of the back EMF induced in the windings that opposes the current flow. The current increases under the load since the motor stalls and that reduces the back EMF. So it is basically a speed-dependent voltage source. Sounds nothing like a matched, resonant antenna that has a purely active resistance and therefore can absorb energy. But I agree, we can add a motor to our collection of "black boxes" with some V/I relationship (and also out of phase). In that sense it is not different than an antenna, I guess.
However, this is offtopic, but I am not clear on one thing: since a motor is an inductive load, most of the energy will be reflected back to the source, will it not? But hasn't that same energy been transferred to the mechanical energy that makes the motor rotate, via the Lorentz force? Has it not been "absorbed"? Does the Lorentz force do work? I don't think it does, since force seems to be applied orthogonally to the motion, but I may be thinking of the magnetic field as opposed to the electric field. I may need to ask in the physics section.
sophiecentaur said:
I think you are needing too much 'carbon' in your mental model of resistance.
Not at all, I stated multiple times that I understand that not everything is a "resistor" and gave some examples. But at the same time I am not afraid to open the black box to take a peek inside it. That way I can learn more about it.