AIM

To study the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction

 INTRODUCTION
Electromagnetic Induction is a current produced
because of voltage production (electromotive force) due to
a changing magnetic field. It was discovered by Michael
Faraday in 1831, and James Clerk Maxwell
mathematically described it as Faraday’s law of
induction.

In Faraday's first experimental demonstration (August

29, 1831), he wrapped two wires around opposite sides of
an iron ring or "torus" (an arrangement similar to a
modern toroidal transformer.
Based on his understanding of electromagnets, he
expected that, when current started to flow in one wire, a
sort of wave would travel through the ring and cause
some electrical effect on the opposite side. He plugged
one wire into a galvanometer, and watched it as he
connected the other wire to a battery. He saw a transient
current, which he called a "wave of electricity", when he
connected the wire to the battery and another when he
disconnected it. This induction was due to the change
in magnetic flux that occurred when the battery was
connected and disconnected.
Within two months, Faraday found several other
manifestations of electromagnetic induction. For
example, he saw transient currents when he quickly slid
a bar magnet in and out of a coil of wires, and he
generated a steady (DC) current by rotating a copper disk
near the bar magnet with a sliding electrical lead
("Faraday's disk").
There are certain factors that influence this voltage
production. They are:

1. Number of Coils: The induced voltage is directly

proportional to the number of turns/coils of the
wire. Greater the number of turns, greater is voltage
produced
2. Changing Magnetic Field: Changing magnetic field
affects the induced voltage. This can be done by
either moving the magnetic field around the
conductor or moving the conductor in the magnetic
field.

Electromagnetic induction uses the relationship between

electricity and magnetism whereby an electric current
flowing through a single wire will produce a magnetic
field around it. If the wire is wound into a coil, the
magnetic field is greatly intensified producing a static
magnetic field around itself forming the shape of a bar
magnet giving a distinct North and South pole.

Air-core Hollow Coil

The magnetic flux developed around the coil is
proportional to the amount of current flowing in the coil’s
windings as shown. If additional layers of wire are wound
upon the same coil with the same current flowing
through them, the static magnetic field strength would
be increased.
Therefore, the magnetic field strength of a coil is
determined by the ampere-turns of the coil. With more
turns of wire within the coil, the strength of the static
magnetic field around it increases.
Electromagnetic Induction was first discovered way
back in the 1830s by Michael Faraday. Faraday noticed
that when he moved a permanent magnet in and out of a
coil or a single loop of wire it induced
an Electromotive Force or emf, in other words, a Voltage,
and therefore a current was produced.
So what Michael Faraday discovered was a way of
producing an electrical current in a circuit by using only
the force of a magnetic field and not batteries. This then
leads to a very important law linking electricity with
magnetism, Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic
Induction. So how does this work?
When the magnet shown below is moved “towards” the
coil, the pointer or needle of the Galvanometer, which is
basically a very sensitive centre -zeroed moving-coil
ammeter, will deflect away from its centre position in one
direction only. When the magnet stops moving and is
held stationary with regards to the coil the needle of the
galvanometer returns back to zero as there is no physical
movement of the magnetic field.
Likewise, when the magnet is moved “away” from the coil
in the other direction, the needle of the galvanometer
deflects in the opposite direction with regards to the first
indicating a change in polarity. Then by moving the
magnet back and forth towards the coil the needle of the
galvanometer will deflect left or right, positive or negative,
relative to the directional motion of the magnet.

Electromagnetic Induction by a Moving Magnet

Likewise, if the magnet is now held stationary and ONLY

the coil is moved towards or away from the magnet the
needle of the galvanometer will also deflect in either
direction. Then the action of moving a coil or loop of wire
through a magnetic field induces a voltage in the coil
with the magnitude of this induced voltage being
proportional to the speed or velocity of the movement.
Then we can see that the faster the movement of the
magnetic field the greater will be the induced emf or
voltage in the coil, so for Faraday’s law to hold true there
must be “relative motion” or movement between the coil
and the magnetic field and either the magnetic field, the
coil or both can move.

Faraday’s Law of Induction

From the above description we can say that a
relationship exists between an electrical voltage and a
changing magnetic field to which Michael Faraday’s
famous law of electromagnetic induction states: “that a
voltage is induced in a circuit whenever relative motion
exists between a conductor and a magnetic field and that
the magnitude of this voltage is proportional to the rate
of change of the flux”.
In other words, Electromagnetic Induction is the
process of using magnetic fields to produce voltage, and
in a closed circuit, a current.
So how much voltage (emf) can be induced into the coil
using just magnetism. Well this is determined by the
following 3 different factors.
1) Increasing the number of turns of wire in the coil
– By increasing the amount of individual
conductors cutting through the magnetic field,
the amount of induced emf produced will be the
sum of all the individual loops of the coil, so if
there are 20 turns in the coil there will be 20
times more induced emf than in one piece of wire.
2) Increasing the speed of the relative motion
between the coil and the magnet – If the same coil
of wire passed through the same magnetic field
but its speed or velocity is increased, the wire will
cut the lines of flux at a faster rate so more
induced emf would be produced.
3) Increasing the strength of the magnetic field – If
the same coil of wire is moved at the same speed
through a stronger magnetic field, there will be
more emf produced because there are more lines
of force to cut.
 ABOUT THE DISCOVERER

Michael Faraday was an English scientist who

contributed to the study
of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.
His main discoveries include the principles
underlying electromagnetic
induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis. Although
Faraday received little formal education, he was one of
the most influential scientists in history. It was by his
research on the magnetic field around
a conductor carrying a direct current that Faraday
established the concept of the electromagnetic field in
physics.
Faraday also established that magnetism could
affect rays of light and that there was an underlying
relationship between the two phenomena. He similarly
discovered the principles of electromagnetic induction,
diamagnetism, and the laws of electrolysis.
His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed
the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was
largely due to his efforts that electricity became practical
for use in technology.

HISTORY
In 1831, Faraday published his discovery of
electromagnetic induction. In a famous experiment he
undertook, he created a basic transformer. He made two
coils by wrapping two separate lengths of wire around
opposite sides of an iron ring. He connected one coil to a
galvanometer, and the other he connected to a battery.
As he connected and disconnected the battery, he
noticed the galvanometer kick. This effect is now known
as mutual induction, and forms the basis of
transformers.

Faraday’s law of Electromagnetic Induction

 First law: Whenever a conductor is placed in a

varying magnetic field, EMF induces and this emf is
called an induced emf and if the conductor is a closed
circuit than the induced current flows through it.
 Second law: The magnitude of the induced EMF is
equal to the rate of change of flux linkages.
Based on his experiments we now have Faraday’s law of
electromagnetic induction according to which the amount
of voltage induced in a coil is proportional to the number
of turns and the changing magnetic field of the coil.

So now, the induced voltage is as follows:

e = N × dΦdt

where,

e is the induced voltage

N is the number of turns in the coil
Φ is the magnetic flux
t is the time

Lenz’s law of Electromagnetic Induction

Lenz law of electromagnetic induction states that, when

an emf induces according to Faraday’s law, the polarity
(direction) of that induced emf is such that it opposes the
cause of its production.

According to Lenz’s law

E = -N (dΦ/ dt) (volts)

Eddy currents
By Lenz law of electromagnetic induction, the current
swirls in such a way as to create a magnetic field opposing
the change. Because of the tendency of eddy currents to
oppose, eddy currents cause a loss of energy.

Eddy currents transform more useful forms of energy,

such as kinetic energy, into heat, which isn’t generally
useful. In many applications, the loss of useful energy is
not particularly desirable, but there are some practical
applications. Like:

 In the brakes of some trains. During braking, the

brakes expose the metal wheels to a magnetic field
which generates eddy currents in the wheels. The
magnetic interaction between the applied field and the
eddy currents slows the wheels down. The faster the
wheels spin, the stronger is the effect, meaning that as
the train slows the braking force is reduces, producing
a smooth stopping motion.
 There are few galvanometers having a fixed core which
are of nonmagnetic metallic material. When the coil
oscillates, the eddy currents that generate in the core
oppose the motion and bring the coil to rest.
 Induction furnace can be used to prepare alloys, by
melting the metals. The eddy currents generated in the
metals produce high temperature enough to melt it.
Applications of Electromagnetic Induction

 Electromagnetic induction in AC generator

 Electrical Transformers
 Magnetic Flow Meter
 Current clamp.
 Electric generators.
 Electromagnetic forming.
 Graphics tablet.
 Hall effect sensors.
 Induction cooking.
Applications of electromagnetic induction examples:

Electrical Generator:
The EMF generated by Faraday’s law of induction due to
relative movement of a circuit and a magnetic field is the
phenomenon underlying electrical generators. When a
permanent magnet is moved relative to a conductor, or
vice versa, an electromotive force is created. If the wire is
connected through an electrical load, current will flow,
and thus electrical energy is generated, converting the
mechanical energy of motion to electrical energy.

Electrical transformer:
The EMF predicted by Faraday’s law is also responsible
for electrical transformers. When the electric current in a
loop of wire changes, the changing current creates a
changing magnetic field. A second wire in reach of this
magnetic field will experience this change in magnetic
field as a change in its coupled magnetic flux, dΦB/dt.
Therefore, an electromotive force is set up in the second
loop called the induced EMF or transformer EMF. If the
two ends of this loop are connected through an electrical
load, current will flow.
 EXPERIMENT
The phenomenon of generation of electric current by
causing a variation in the magnetic field is
electromagnetic induction. Faraday conducted an
experiment in which a coil connected to a galvanometer
is placed near a bar magnet. The movement of the bar
magnet towards or away from the coil causes the
generation and flow of electric current in the coil.

Materials Required:
Magnetic bar, a galvanometer, coil and connecting wires.

Working principle:
The phenomenon of electromagnetic induction was first
discovered by Michael Faraday while experimenting on
how to produce an electric current in a circuit using only
the force of the magnetic field. Faraday noticed that
moving a permanent magnet in and out of a coil induces
an electromotive force thereby producing current.
The experiment conducted by faraday is described in
brief as follows:
In the experiment, a coil denoted by C1C1 is connected
to a galvanometer, and a bar magnet is placed near to it
as shown in the figure.
When the bar magnet is held stationary, the
galvanometer does not show any deflection. When the
north pole of the magnet is pushed towards the coil, the
pointer in the galvanometer deflects indicating the
presence of an electric current in the coil.
However, when the north pole of the magnet is pulled
away from the coil, the pointer in the galvanometer
deflects in the opposite direction, indicating that the
direction of the current is reversed.
Similarly, when the south pole of the magnet is moved
towards or away from the coil, the galvanometer deflects
in a manner opposite to that observed when the north
pole of the magnet was moved towards or away from the
coil. When the coil is pushed towards and pulled away
from the fixed bar magnet, the same effects of deflections
in the galvanometer are observed.
The relative motion between the magnet and the
coil C1C1 changes the magnetic flux associated with the
coil. This induces an electromotive force in the coil. This
induced emf causes the electric current to flow in the coil
and through the galvanometer.

Note
When the bar magnet is not moving away or towards the
coil, no sign of deflection is seen in the galvanometer
implying the non-induction of current in the coil.