Inductance | Electronics, Magnetic Fields & Physics

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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-10-19T00:00:00CDT" >Oct 19, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/inductance/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/science/henry-unit-of-inductance" topicid="261372">henry</a></dd> <dd><a href="/science/back-emf" topicid="48017">back emf</a></dd> <dd><a href="/science/self-inductance" topicid="533409">self-inductance</a></dd> <dd><a href="/science/mutual-inductance" topicid="399879">mutual inductance</a></dd> <dd><a href="/science/electrical-conductor" topicid="182829">electrical conductor</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/inductance"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref72623"></span>inductance</strong>, property of a <span id="ref72624"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/electrical-conductor" class="md-crosslink ">conductor</a> (often in the shape of a <span id="ref72625"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/coil" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">coil</a>) that is measured by the size of the <span id="ref72626"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/electromotive-force" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">electromotive force</a>, or voltage, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="induced" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/induced" data-type="EB">induced</a> in it, compared with the rate of change of the <span id="ref72627"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/electric-current" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">electric current</a> that produces the voltage. A steady current produces a stationary magnetic field; a steadily changing current, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/alternating-current" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">alternating current</a>, or fluctuating <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/direct-current" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">direct current</a> produces a varying <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/magnetic-field" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">magnetic field</a>, which, in turn, induces an electromotive force in a conductor that is present in the field. The size of the induced electromotive force is proportional to the rate of change of the electric current. The proportionality factor is called the inductance and is defined as the value of the electromotive force induced in a conductor divided by the magnitude of the rate of change of the current causing the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="induction" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/induction" data-type="MW">induction</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">If the electromotive force is induced in a conductor that is different from the one in which the current is changing, the phenomenon is called <span id="ref72628"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/mutual-inductance" class="md-crosslink ">mutual induction</a>, exemplified in a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/transformer-electronics" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">transformer</a>. A changing magnetic field caused by a varying current in a conductor, however, also induces an electromotive force in the very conductor that carries the changing current. Such a phenomenon is called self-induction, and the quotient of the induced electromotive force and the rate of change of the current is specified as <span id="ref72629"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/self-inductance" class="md-crosslink ">self-inductance</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A self-induced electromotive force opposes the change that brings it about. Consequently, when a current begins to flow through a coil of wire, it undergoes an opposition to its flow in addition to the resistance of the metal wire. On the other hand, when an <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/electric-circuit" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">electric circuit</a> carrying a steady current and containing a coil is suddenly opened, the collapsing, and hence <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="diminishing" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/diminishing" data-type="EB">diminishing</a>, magnetic field causes an induced electromotive force that tends to maintain the current and the magnetic field and may cause a spark between the contacts of the switch. The self-inductance of a coil, or simply its inductance, may thus be thought of as electromagnetic inertia, a property that opposes changes both in currents and in magnetic fields.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/electricity-short-circuits-direct-currents" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/69/166069-131-95E9CF81/battery-Illustration-Battery-Power-bulb-Science-Circuit.jpg" alt="battery. Illustration of battery connected to lightbulb. Power a light bulb with a battery. Battery, Power Supply, Science, Circuit, Currents" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Electricity: Short Circuits & Direct Currents</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Inductance depends on the size and shape of a given conductor, the number of turns if it is a coil, and the kind of material near the conductor. A coil <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="wound" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/wound" data-type="EB">wound</a> on a soft iron core far more effectively chokes the increase of a current than the same coil with an air core. The iron core increases the inductance; for the same rate of change of the current in the coil, a greater opposing electromotive force (<span id="ref72630"></span>back emf) is present to choke the current.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The unit of magnetic inductance is the <span id="ref72631"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/henry-unit-of-inductance" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">henry</a>, named in honour of the 19th-century American physicist <span id="ref72632"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Henry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Joseph Henry</a>, who first recognized the phenomenon of self-induction. One henry is equivalent to one volt divided by one ampere per second. If a current changing at the rate of one ampere per second induces an electromotive force of one volt, the circuit has an inductance of one henry, a relatively large inductance.</p><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Adam-Augustyn/6394">Adam Augustyn</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":286711,"pageLength":491,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Inductance | Electronics, Magnetic Fields & Physics | Britannica