What is defined as the property of a conductor that opposes changes in current?

The property of a conductor that opposes changes in current is known as inductance. Inductance occurs in conductors when they are exposed to a changing current, which creates a magnetic field around them. As the current changes—whether it is increasing or decreasing—this magnetic field also changes, inducing a voltage that opposes the original change in current, according to Lenz's Law. This self-induced voltage is what causes inductors to resist changes in current flow, effectively storing energy temporarily in the magnetic field.

In electrical circuits where inductance is present, this behavior can lead to time delays in the current reaching its steady state, which is a critical factor in AC circuits and applications such as transformers, inductors, and motors. Understanding inductance is essential for designing circuits that require specific response times or behaviors, particularly in RF (radio frequency) applications or in power transmission systems.

Capacitance, on the other hand, is related to the ability of a capacitor to store electric charge and thus resist changes in voltage, not current. Resistivity is a material property indicating how strongly a material opposes the flow of electric current, while conductance is the measure of how easily electricity flows through a material. While these terms are related to the broader