Ferro resonance or nonlinear resonance is a type of resonance in electric circuits which occurs when a circuit containing a nonlinear inductance

is fed from a source that has series capacitance, and the circuit is subjected to a disturbance such as opening of a switch. It can cause overvoltage and overcurrents in an electrical power system and can pose a risk to transmission and distribution equipment and to operational personnel. Ferro resonance should not be confused with linear resonance that occurs when inductive and capacitive reactance of a circuit is equal. In linear resonance the current and voltage are linearly related in a manner which is frequency dependent. In the case of Ferro resonance it is characterised by a sudden jump of voltage or current from one stable operating state to another one. The relationship between voltage and current is dependent not only on frequency but also on a number of other factors such as the system voltage magnitude, initial magnetic flux condition of transformer iron core, the total loss in the Ferro resonant circuit and the point on wave of initial switching. Ferro resonant effects were first described in a 1907 paper by Joseph Bethenod. The term "Ferro resonance" was apparently coined by French engineer Paul Boucherot in a paper from 1920, where he analysed the phenomenon of two stable fundamental frequency operating points coexisting in a series circuit containing a resistor, nonlinear inductor and a capacitor.