Inductance,RLCircuits,andTransformers

I. Inductance,Inductors,andRLCircuits

A. Nowthatweknowanytimethereisachangeinmagneticfluxtherewillalsobean
inducedEMF(becauseNaturedoesnotlikechanges!),wecanlookatasimplecurrent
loopwithabatteryandaresistorverydifferently.

1. Ifthereisaswitchinthecircuitandinitiallyitisopen,thereisnocurrentflowing
andasaresulttheloopisnotproducingamagneticfield.

2. BUT,oncetheswitchisclosed,acurrentwillflowandthiswillproduceamagnetic
field.Therefore,amagneticfluxwillbeassociatedwiththeloop.Thisloop,evenif
wemodelitasperfectwithoutaresistorandthewiresandbatteryhaveno
resistance,willnotlikethissuddenchangeinflux.

3. Theloopwilltrytoopposethischange,andinfactwillproduceitsownEMFthat
worksagainstthebattery!Itwillproduceacurrentintheoppositedirectionthat
triestominimizethesuddenincreaseincurrentoncetheswitchisclosed.Wecall
thistheselfinductanceofthecurrentloop.

4. ThisisoftenalsocalledabackEMFbecauseitisworkingbackwardsagainstthe
actualvoltagesource(battery).Soevenasingleloopofwirecanproducean
inducedEMFwhenitisinitiallyturnedonandgivenasourceofvoltage.

5. Sowhatwehavethenisthecurrentinthecircuitwitharesistorandabatterydoes
notactuallyincreasetoitsfullvalueofI =
v
R
immediately.Rather,ittakessome
finiteamountoftimebecauseofthecircuitsoppositiontothesuddenchangein
flux.Onepositivecurrent+onenegativecurrent,buteventuallythenegative
currentstops(becausethechangingfluxalsostops)andthemaximumvalueis
reached.

6. Formanysimplecircuitstheoppositionisveryminimalandforallpractical
purposesthecurrentreachesitsmaximumvalueveryquickly.Butcircuitsthat
containlargecoils(solenoids)willrespondmorestronglytothischangeinflux

7. Anexcellentexampleofthisideaintherealworldiswhenyouunpluganelectric
appliancethatusesalargecurrent,suchasahairdryeroratoaster.Oftentimes
whenyouunplugittherewillbeasparkbetweentheplugandthewalloutlet.This
isduetotheselfinductanceofthecurrentloopmadebytheoutletandthe
appliance.Alargecurrentwasflowingandallofasuddenyouunpluggeditand
madeit=0.ThecurrentloopdoesnotlikethatandrespondswithalargeEMFthat
triestokeepthecurrentflowing.IftheEMFislargeenough,itcancauseasmall
lightningboltbetweenthespaceseparatingthemetalplugandthemetal
contactsintheoutlet.

8. Wecallthispropertyofcircuitsandcircuitelementsinductance,anditismuchlike
themagneticfieldequivalentofcapacitancefortheelectricfield.

B. WecaninfactgiveFaradaysLawintermsoftheinductanceaswell:e = -I
dI
dt

wherethenewfactorchangingwithrespecttotimeisthecurrent,I.

C. Forthecaseofasolenoid,wecanequatethesetwoexpressionstodeterminethat:

e = -N
J
Jt
= -I
JI
Jt
, so I =
N
I
= -
e
JI
Jt

D. Wecangetafeelingforwhatinductancerepresentsnowinthataresistorhas
resistancetocurrent,aninductor(objectwithinductance)hasaresistancetoachange
incurrent.

E. TheSIunitforinductanceistheHenry(H)and1H=1Vs/A.

F. Inparticular,theinductanceofasolenoiddependsonitsgeometry(itsshape),aswell
aswhatmaterial(s)itismadeof.Asolenoidwithaferromagneticcore,meaning
somethinglikeironforitsinterior,willhaveaverydifferentinductancethananair
coresolenoidwhichisfilledwithnothing.Thisissimilartousingdielectricswith
capacitors.

G. Thespecificformulafortheinductanceofasolenoidis:I(solcnoiJ) =

0
N
2
A
I
where
thelowercaselrepresentsthesolenoidslength(dontwanttwocapitalLs).Notethat
sinceweusedthepermeabilityoffreespaceinthisequation,itonlyholdsfor
solenoidsfilledwithvacuum(orair,samethinginthiscase).Forasolenoidfilledwith
ironorsomeothermaterial,weneedtouseadifferentconstant(pratherthanp
0
).

H. Aninductorisacircuitelementwithapurposefulinductance,meaningthefactthatit
hasaninductanceisusefulforsomeapplication(likeresistorsandcapacitors).Most
often,inductorsaresimplysolenoids(coils).

I. Thecircuitsymbolforaninductorislikeacoil:

J. Anyrealcircuithasasmallamountofselfinductance,justlikeanyrealcircuithasa
smallresistanceandmayhaveasmallcapacitance.Butusuallyweignorethiseffect
becauseitissmallcomparedtoanactualinductorinthecircuit.

K. Sohowtouseaninductorinacircuit?ThesimplestcaseisanRLcircuit:aresistor
connectedinserieswithaninductor:

1. Initially,beforetheswitchisclosed,thereisnocurrentflowinginthecircuitsothereis
alsonocurrentflowingintheinductor.

2. Butaftertheswitchisclosed,allofthesuddenthereisahugeincreaseincurrentandthe
inductordoesnotlikethischange(inductorsresistchangesincurrentduetothemnot
likingchangesinmagneticflux).

3. SotheinductorwillinfactproduceitsownEMFandcurrentthattriestoopposethis
suddenchange.

4. Thatmeansthatthetotalcurrentinthecircuitdoesnotreachasteadyvalueimmediately,
insteadittakessometime.Weinfacthavetwocurrentsflowingindifferentdirections:
clockwisefromtheEMF,counterclockwisefromtheinductor(inthisparticularcircuit
drawing).

5. ThisisverysimilartoanRCcircuit,thoughthedirectcomparisonwouldbecurrentinRLis
likechargeinRC.

6. Thenewfactorthataffectsthetimeofthischangeincurrentinthecircuitisalsoatime
constant,butitequals: =
L
R
.Thelargertheinductor(L),thelargerthetimeconstant.

7. MuchlikewiththeRCcase,wecancomeupwithanexpressionforthevoltagechangesin
theRLcircuitaswegoaroundusingKirchoffslooprule:

+e -I
JI
Jt
- IR = u
Thisissimplyadifferentialequationinvolvingtime(t)andcurrent(I),whichcanbesolved
inasimilarwaytotheRCcase.Thefinalresultforthecurrentasafunctionoftimeis:

I(t) =
e
R
(1 - c
-t:
), = IR

e
R

ThisisthefunctionthatrepresentsthecurrentinanRLcircuitwhenitisconnectedtoan
externalEMFsource(battery).Itis=0att=0,butthenincreasesexponentiallywithtime
sothatitreachesamaximumofI
mux
=
s
R
afteralongtime.

8. ThewholepurposeofaninductorthoughisitcanbeusedasitsownsourceofEMF
(voltage).Ifweweretonowremovethebatteryfromthecircuitabove,acurrentwillstill
flow!

9. Theinductordoesnotlikechangesincurrent,soevenifthereisnoexternalEMF,the
inductorwillinduceitsownEMFandtrytokeepthecurrentflowingonitsown.Thisis
similartothedischargeprocessofacapacitorinanRCcircuit.

10. WithnoexternalEMF,thecurrentintheRLcircuitwillbe:I(t) =
e
R
c
-t
.Thisisan
exponentiallydecreasingfunction,meaningitsmaximumoccursatt=0andthenast
increasesthecurrentapproaches0.Afteralongtime,theinductorcannotcontinueto
provideforacurrentandthecurrentwillstopflowing.

11. Aninductormanagestodothisbystoringenergyinamagneticfield.Capacitorsstore
energyinanelectricfield,inductorsserveasimilarpurposebutwithamagneticfield.
Basically,whiletheexternalEMF(battery)isconnectedtoanRLcircuit,someofthe
energyfromthebatterygoestotheinductorratherthanthecircuit(thecurrentthatflows
islessthanitnormallywouldbebecauseoftheinductor).Lateron,theinductorcanuse
thisenergytoprovideforacurrentevenifthebatteryisremoved.

12. Theenergystoredinaninductorisasfollows:u(cncrgy) =
1
2
II
2
.Youllnoticethis
energyequationlooksverysimilartoothersweveencountered:
1
2
m:
2
,
1
2
kx
2
,
1
2
CI
2

II. TransformersandACPower

A. Perhapsthemostinterestingandusefulapplicationofinductorsisintransformers.

B. Mostlikely,youveheardthetermtransformerbefore(asusedinelectricity,notthe
toys/movies).Atransformerdoesexactlywhatitsnamesuggests:ittransforms
something.

C. Inparticular,atransformerintheelectricityandmagnetismworldcantransform
voltageandcurrent,meaningitcantakeaninputvoltageandsendoutadifferent
voltage;similarlyitcantakeaninputcurrentandsendoutadifferentcurrent.

D. Howdoesthiswork?Well,firstweneedtolookmorecloselyatwhatatransformeris
reallymadeoftwoseparateinductors(coils)andacommonferromagneticcore(e.g.
iron):

E. Eachcoiliswrappedaroundtheironcoresothatifandwhentheyproduceamagnetic
field(i.e.haveacurrentflowingthroughthem),theironcorewilltransferthis
magneticfieldtotheothercoil.Recallthatferromagneticmaterialslikeironbecome
magnetizedbymagneticfields,sothismagneticfieldtransferworksquitewell.

F. So,forexample,ifacurrentissentthroughthefirstcoil(theprimaryontheleft),this
willproduceamagneticfieldwhichwillmakeitswayovertotheothercoil(the
secondaryontheright).

G. Aconstantcurrentwillproduceaconstantmagneticfield,whichinfactdoesntdo
anythinguseful.Constantmagneticfieldsdontcausechangesinfluxnochangein
fluxmeansnoinducedEMF.

H. ButifweuseanACcurrent,thecurrentwillalwaysbechanging,sothemagneticfield
willalsoalwaysbechanging.Thiswillproduceacontinuouslychangingfluxinthe
secondarycoil:idealconditionsforaninducedEMF!

I. Soeventhoughthetwocoilsarenotelectricallyconnectedinanyway,theycan
influenceeachotherthroughtheironcore,andinfactalsothroughtheairinsome
otherconfigurations.

J. Twoinductors(coils)willalwayshavethepossibilityofinteractingviaFaradaysLaw
andinducedEMFs,evenwhentheyarenotphysicallytouching(remembertheinclass
demowhenwelitupthesmalllightbulbconnectedtoasecondarycoilbyplacingit
ontopofthelargesolenoidactingastheprimarycoil).

K. Nowthen,howtoquantifyhowthesetwocoilswillinteract?Weassumetheflux
througheachcoilmustbethesamethatisthepurposeoftheironcore(itenhances
theflux).Soifthefluxisthesame,thenwecanrelatethattothepropertiesofthe
coils:theirvoltages(inducedEMF)andnumberofturns.

L. FaradaysLawsaystheinducedEMFcomessimplyfromthenumberofturnsandthe
changeinfluxoverthechangeintime,so:

e
p
= -N
p
J
p
Jt
: primory

e
s
= -N
s
J
s
Jt
: scconJory

But:
J
p
Jt
=
J
s
Jt
(luxcs orc cquol)

So:
e
p
e
s
=
N
p
N
s

M. Basically,theratiooftheEMFs(voltages)ofthetwocoilsistotallydependentonhow
manyturnseachcoilhas.Wecanchangethenumberofturnsbetweenthetwocoilsin
ordertochangetheratiooftheinput/outputvoltage.

N. Nowthen,anotherconsiderationiswhathappenstothecurrentineachcoil?Well,we
cantbecreatingordestroyingenergy(intherealworldalltransformersexperience
somelossofenergy),sothepowerassociatedwitheachcoilmustbethesame:P = II

O. Specificallyforeachcoil:I
p
I
p
= I
s
I
s
.Soifthevoltagegoesupfromprimaryto
secondary,thencurrentmustgodowninordertoconserveenergy.Similarlyifthe
voltagegoesdownfromprimarytosecondary,thenthecurrentwillinfactgoup.You
cantindependentlychangevoltageandcurrentwithatransformer,theychange
togetherduetoenergyconservation.

P. Nowthen,overallwecanwritethetransformerequation:

I
s
I
p
=
I
p
I
s
=
N
p
N
s

Basically,thenumberofturnsforeachcoildetermineshowthevoltageandcurrent
canbechanged.

1. Ifthesecondarycoilhasfewerturnsthantheprimary,thevoltagewillbe
decreased(steppeddown),butthecurrentwillbeincreased.

2. Ifthesecondarycoilhasmoreturnsthantheprimary,thevoltagewillbeincreased
(steppedup),butthecurrentmustdecrease.
3. Naturedoesntletusgetsomethingfornothing,sowemustacceptchangesin
bothvoltageandcurrentwhenusingtransformers.

Q. Anytimeyouuseapoweradapterforyourphone,computer,orotherelectronic
device,youareactuallyusingatransformer.TheadaptertakesintheACvoltageof
around120Vfromthemainspower,(thewalloutlet)and(usually)stepsitdown
toalowervoltagesothatyoucanuseitinyourdevice.Manysmallerelectronic
devicesarentmadetohandle120V,sotheyneedaloweroperatingvoltage.

R. Sincethisdecreaseinvoltagewillalsoinvolveanincreaseincurrent,oftentheadapter
hasothercircuitelementsthatreducethecurrentsothatitdoesntbecometoohigh
todamageyourdevice.Nexttimeyouthinkaboutit,lookattheadapterforyour
laptopanditwilllikelyhaveavoltageandcurrentvaluethatindicateswhatits
capabilitiesare.Thisiswhyyoucantveryoftenexchangeadaptersformorethanone
device:eachadapterismadespecificallyforagivenvoltageandcurrentoutput.

S. Someelectronicdevicesneedastepupinvoltagefromthe120Vthatisavailablein
yourhouse.Forexample,fluorescentlightsrequireatleast15,00025,000V,sothey
haveatransformerthatincreasesthevoltagefrom120V.OldstyleTVsthatused
cathoderaytubesalsoneededtostepupthevoltagelikethis.

T. Anothercommonuseoftransformersisinpowerlinesandpowertransmission.Most
homesorbusinessesuse120V(ormaybe240V).Butthislowvoltageisnotvery
practicalforpowerdistributionalongpowerlines.

U. Usuallythevoltagethatcomesfromthepowerplantisaround12,000Vanditis
steppedupusingatransformertoaround240,000Vbeforeitissentoutalonghigh
voltagepowerlines(theoneswiththehugetowersyouseealonghighways,etc.).
Thenonceitgetstoalocaldistributionarealikeatown,itgetssteppeddownbya
transformerbacktoaround2400Vandthenfinallyitissteppeddownagainlocallyat
yourhouseto120V.

V. Thereasonitmustbesteppeduptosuchahighvoltageforitslongertripsalonghigh
voltagepowerlinescomesfromtryingtoreduceenergylossesfromheat.Sincepower
linesarenotmadeofperfectconductors(nosuperconductorsatroomtemperature
yet!),theelectricitywillproducesomeheatduringitstravel:P = I
2
R.

W. Theresistanceofthepowerlines(R)cannotreallybechanged.Soinsteadwewantto
minimizethecurrentflowingthroughthem(I).Sinceatransformerwillalwayschange
bothvoltageandcurrent,wecanreducethecurrentassociatedwiththepowerthat
travelsalongthelinesbyincreasingthevoltagetoalargevalue.

X. Sothelargerthevoltageissteppedup,thelowerthecurrentandthelessenergyloss
duetoheat.Andsincethecurrentisinfactsquaredintheequation,eachfactorof
changeinthevoltageleadstoaverylargedecreaseinthefactorofenergylost.

Y. ThisisoneofthemainreasonsweuseACpowerinsteadofDCpower:onlyACallows
fortransformerstobeused.

Z. IfnotAC,therewouldbenochangeinfluxandtransformerswouldntevenwork!But
usingtransformerswecanthenstepupthevoltageforlongtraveldistancesfor
electricityalongpowerlineswithoutlosingnearlyasmuchenergyduetoheat.Tesla
winsoverEdison!(Teslawasaphysicist,Edisonwasatbestanengineer,soIam
biased)

A. ElectricalSafetyinYourHouse

1. Sincethevoltagecomingfromthewallissomewhathighat120V,itispossibleto
createsomedangeroussituationswithbasicelectricappliancesandtheirusein
yourhouse,etc.

2. Ofcourse,voltageisntreallywhatcancauseaproblem;currentiswhatkills.So
therearesomesafetyfeaturesbuiltintoelectricappliancesaswellaswalloutlets
thathelptoreducethechanceofinjury.

3. Onesafetyfeatureispolarizedplugs.Polarizedplugswillonlyallowyoutoplug
theminthecorrectwaysothatthezeropotentialsideofthewalloutletis
connectedtoanymetalontheappliance.

a. Thezeropotentialsideofthewalloutletalwaysstaysatessentially0V,while
theothersideactuallyoscillatesbetween+V
max
andV
max
.

b. Thepurposeofthisistoensureif,forexample,youtouchthemetalcaseofa
toasterwhileitispluggedinanditmalfunctions,youwillalwaysbetouching
essentially0Vratherthantheactiveorhotsideofthevoltage.

4. Anevenmoreupdatedversionofthisideaistouseathreeprongplugwherethe
thirdpieceoftheplugisalwaysgrounded.Inthiscaseanymetalonthe
applianceisalsoconnectedtothisthirdprong,andwhenitispluggedinthethird
pronggetsconnectedtotheEarth.TheEarthcaninprincipleacceptanyamount
ofchargeorvoltageincaseofamalfunction,soitwillalwaysbeatground,:0V.

5. Dontcutoffthethirdprongunlessyouarewillingtoaccepttheconsequencesin
caseofmalfunctionwithyourappliance!Olderhomesdonthaveanythreeprong
outletsbecausetheywerentrequiredinthepast.

6. ThreeprongplugsalsohelptoavoidanydamagetoTVs,etc.incasethereisa
surgeintheelectricitylikeduringalightningstorm.Surgeprotectorsareeven
betterprotectionagainstthis,butworkonadifferentprinciple.

7. GroundFaultInterrupter(GFI)

1. Foroutletsthatarenearwaterlikeinthekitchenandbathroom,thesedays
anothersafetyfeatureisrequiredcalledaGFI.Thisisaspecialcircuitthatcan
senseabnormalcurrentsflowingandinturncutoffthecircuittoavoidany
damage(usuallytohumans!).