On Fri, 16 May 2014, Uncle Peter wrote:   
   >   
   > But I wonder if it would help reduce the meter reading?   
   >   
   No. The coil and the capacitor add up (ideally) to zero impedence, so it's   
   like you put a wire accoss the mains. It burns and/or the breaker/fuse   
   opens. For real components the coil & cap still cancel out and leave   
   basically the resistance of the coil, which for a ``large'' coil is   
   probably small, so again bad things happen.   
      
   But you have a basic fallacy anyway. At resonance the current is /in/   
   phase with the voltage, the capacitive and inductive reactance cancel out   
   so the circuit looks purely resistive.   
      
   If you like complex impedences (and adding a bit of series R &   
   using the EE jxj=-1 & w standing in for omega = 2 pi f)   
      
   XL=jwL   
   XC=1/jwC   
   Z=jwL+1/jwC+R   
      
   at resonance w=sqrt(1/LC)   
   Z=j( sqrt(1/LC)L-1/sqrt(1/LC)C )+R=j( sqrt(L/C)-sqrt(L/C) )+R=R   
   I=V/R   
      
   and   
      
   VL=(V/R)jwL    = j(V/R)sqrt(L/C)   
   VC=(V/R)(1/jwC)=-j(V/R)sqrt(L/C)   
      
   The voltages on the cap & coil are 90 out of phase with the currrent and   
   180 out with each other so they add to zero but can be very large   
   depending on the choice of R, L & C (and clearly they as well as the   
   current get large as R gets small).   
      
   If you did have current 180 out of phase with voltage you would have to be   
   supplying power and the meter ``should'' run backwards (it may or may not,   
   depending on design) but the power company doesn't normally buy power at   
   the rate they sell it so they wouldn't like it.   
      
       Ron   
      
   aye means yes to a sailor   
   eye in a needle I can thread   
   i is the imaginary unit   
   but EEs use j instead   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)