An electromagnetic coil is an electrical

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

such as a wire in the shape of a coil (

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:helix). Electromagnetic coils are used in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

, in applications where

electric current An electric current is a stream of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space. It is measured as the net rate of flow of electric charge through a surface or into a control volume. The moving pa ...

s interact with

magnetic field A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...

s, in devices such as electric motors,

generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...

s, inductors, electromagnets, transformers, and sensor coils. Either an electric current is passed through the wire of the coil to generate a magnetic field, or conversely, an external ''time-varying'' magnetic field through the interior of the coil generates an EMF ( voltage) in the conductor. A current through any conductor creates a circular magnetic field around the conductor due to Ampere's law. The advantage of using the coil shape is that it increases the strength of the magnetic field produced by a given current. The magnetic fields generated by the separate turns of wire all pass through the center of the coil and add ( superpose) to produce a strong field there. The more turns of wire, the stronger the field produced. Conversely, a ''changing'' external magnetic flux induces a voltage in a conductor such as a wire, due to

Faraday's law of induction Faraday's law of induction (briefly, Faraday's law) is a basic law of electromagnetism predicting how a magnetic field will interact with an electric circuit to produce an electromotive force (emf)—a phenomenon known as electromagnetic inducti ...

. The induced voltage can be increased by winding the wire into a coil because the field lines intersect the circuit multiple times. The direction of the magnetic field produced by a coil can be determined by the right hand grip rule. If the fingers of the right hand are wrapped around the magnetic core of a coil in the direction of conventional current through the wire, the thumb will point in the direction the magnetic field lines pass through the coil. The end of a magnetic core from which the field lines emerge is defined to be the North pole. There are many different types of coils used in electric and electronic equipment. VFPt Solenoid correct2

Windings and taps

The wire or conductor which constitutes the coil is called the winding. The hole in the center of the coil is called the core area or ''magnetic axis''. Each loop of wire is called a turn. In windings in which the turns touch, the wire must be insulated with a coating of nonconductive

insulation Insulation may refer to: Thermal * Thermal insulation, use of materials to reduce rates of heat transfer ** List of insulation materials ** Building insulation, thermal insulation added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency *** Insulated ...

such as plastic or enamel to prevent the current from passing between the wire turns. The winding is often wrapped around a ''coil form'' made of plastic or other material to hold it in place. The ends of the wire are brought out and attached to an external circuit. Windings may have additional electrical connections along their length; these are called taps. A winding that has a single tap in the center of its length is called center-tapped. Coils can have more than one winding, insulated electrically from each other. When there are two or more windings around a common magnetic axis, the windings are said to be inductively coupled or magnetically coupled. A time-varying current through one winding will create a time-varying magnetic field that passes through the other winding, which will induce a time-varying voltage in the other windings. This is called a transformer. The winding to which current is applied, which creates the magnetic field, is called the '' primary winding''. The other windings are called '' secondary windings''.

Magnetic core

Many electromagnetic coils have a

magnetic core A magnetic core is a piece of magnetic material with a high magnetic permeability used to confine and guide magnetic fields in electrical, electromechanical and magnetic devices such as electromagnets, transformers, electric motors, generators, in ...

, a piece of

ferromagnetic Ferromagnetism is a property of certain materials (such as iron) which results in a large observed magnetic permeability, and in many cases a large magnetic coercivity allowing the material to form a permanent magnet. Ferromagnetic materials ...

material like iron in the center to increase the magnetic field. The current through the coil magnetizes the iron, and the field of the magnetized material adds to the field produced by the wire. This is called a ferromagnetic-core or iron-core coil. A ferromagnetic core can increase the magnetic field and

inductance Inductance is the tendency of an electrical conductor to oppose a change in the electric current flowing through it. The flow of electric current creates a magnetic field around the conductor. The field strength depends on the magnitude of the ...

of a coil by hundreds or thousands of times over what it would be without the core. A ferrite core coil is a variety of coil with a core made of ferrite, a ferrimagnetic ceramic compound. Ferrite coils have lower core losses at high frequencies. *A coil with a core which forms a closed loop, possibly with some narrow air gaps, is called a closed-core coil. By providing a closed path for the magnetic field lines, this geometry minimizes the magnetic reluctance and produces the strongest magnetic field. It is often used in transformers. **A common form for closed-core coils is a toroidal core coil, in which the core has the shape of a torus or doughnut, with either a circular or rectangular cross section. This geometry has minimum

leakage flux Leakage inductance derives from the electrical property of an imperfectly-coupled transformer whereby each winding behaves as a self-inductance in series with the winding's respective ohmic resistance constant. These four winding constants also in ...

and radiates minimum

electromagnetic interference Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electros ...

(EMI). *A coil with a core which is a straight bar or other non-loop shape is called an open-core coil. This has lower magnetic field and inductance than a closed core, but is often used to prevent

magnetic saturation Seen in some magnetic materials, saturation is the state reached when an increase in applied external magnetic field ''H'' cannot increase the magnetization of the material further, so the total magnetic flux density ''B'' more or less levels off ...

of the core. A coil without a ferromagnetic core is called an air-core coil. This includes coils wound on plastic or other nonmagnetic forms, as well as coils which actually have empty air space inside their windings.

Types of coils

Coils can be classified by the frequency of the current they are designed to operate with: :*''Direct current'' or ''DC'' coils or electromagnets operate with a steady direct current in their windings :*''Audio-frequency'' or ''AF'' coils, inductors or transformers operate with alternating currents in the audio frequency range, less than 20 kHz :*''Radio-frequency'' or ''RF'' coils, inductors or transformers operate with alternating currents in the radio frequency range, above 20 kHz Coils can be classified by their function:

Electromagnets

Electromagnets are coils that generate a

for some external use, often to exert a mechanical force on something. or remove existing background fields. A few specific types: :*

Solenoid upright=1.20, An illustration of a solenoid upright=1.20, Magnetic field created by a seven-loop solenoid (cross-sectional view) described using field lines A solenoid () is a type of electromagnet formed by a helix, helical coil of wire whose ...

- an electromagnet in the form of a straight hollow helix of wire :*Motor and generator windings - iron core electromagnets on the rotor or

stator The stator is the stationary part of a rotary system, found in electric generators, electric motors, sirens, mud motors or biological rotors. Energy flows through a stator to or from the rotating component of the system. In an electric mot ...

of electric motors and generators which act on each other to either turn the shaft (motor) or generate an electric current (generator) :** Field winding - an iron-core coil which generates a steady magnetic field to act on the armature winding. :** Armature winding - an iron-core coil which is acted on by the magnetic field of the field winding to either create torque (motor) or induce a voltage to produce power (generator) :* Helmholtz coil, Maxwell coil - air-core coils which serve to cancel an external magnetic field :* Degaussing coil - a coil used to demagnetize parts :* Voice coil - a coil used in a moving-coil loudspeaker, suspended between the poles of a magnet. When the

audio signal An audio signal is a representation of sound, typically using either a changing level of electrical voltage for analog signals, or a series of binary numbers for digital signals. Audio signals have frequencies in the audio frequency range of r ...

is passed through the coil, it vibrates, moving the attached speaker cone to create sound waves. The reverse is used in a dynamic microphone, where sound vibrations intercepted by something like a

diaphragm Diaphragm may refer to: Anatomy * Thoracic diaphragm, a thin sheet of muscle between the thorax and the abdomen * Pelvic diaphragm or pelvic floor, a pelvic structure * Urogenital diaphragm or triangular ligament, a pelvic structure Other * Diap ...

physically transfer to a voice coil immersed in a magnetic field, and the coil's terminal ends then provide an electric analog of those vibrations.

Inductors

Inductors or reactors are coils which generate a magnetic field which interacts with the coil itself, to induce a back EMF which opposes changes in current through the coil. Inductors are used as

circuit element Electrical elements are conceptual abstractions representing idealized electrical components, such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors, used in the analysis of electrical networks. All electrical networks can be analyzed as multiple electric ...

s in electrical circuits, to temporarily store energy or resist changes in current. A few types: :*Tank coil - an inductor used in a tuned circuit :* Choke - an inductor used to block high frequency AC while allowing through low frequency AC or DC. :*

Loading coil A loading coil or load coil is an inductor that is inserted into an electronic circuit to increase its inductance. The term originated in the 19th century for inductors used to prevent signal distortion in long-distance telegraph transmission c ...

- an inductor used to add inductance to an antenna, to make it resonant, or to a cable to prevent distortion of signals. :* Variometer - an adjustable inductor consisting of two coils in series, an outer stationary coil and a second one inside it which can be rotated so their magnetic axes are in the same direction or opposed. :* Flyback transformer - Although called a transformer, this is actually an inductor which serves to store energy in

switching power supplies A switched-mode power supply (switching-mode power supply, switch-mode power supply, switched power supply, SMPS, or switcher) is an electronic power supply that incorporates a switching regulator to convert electrical power efficiently. Like ...

and horizontal deflection circuits for

CRT CRT or Crt may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Medicine and biology * Calreticulin, a protein *Capillary refill time, for blood to refill capillaries *Cardiac resynchronization therapy and CRT defibrillator (CRT-D) * Catheter-re ...

televisions and monitors :* Saturable reactor - an iron-core inductor used to control AC power by varying the saturation of the core using a DC control voltage in an auxiliary winding. :* Inductive ballast - an inductor used in

gas-discharge lamp Gas-discharge lamps are a family of artificial light sources that generate light by sending an electric discharge through an ionized gas, a plasma. Typically, such lamps use a noble gas (argon, neon, krypton, and xenon) or a mixture of thes ...

circuits, such as fluorescent lamps, to limit the current through the lamp.

Transformers

A transformer is a device with two or more magnetically coupled windings (or sections of a single winding). A time varying current in one coil (called the primary winding) generates a magnetic field which induces a voltage in the other coil (called the secondary winding). A few types: :* Distribution transformer - A transformer in an electric power grid which transforms the high voltage from the electric power line to the lower voltage used by utility customers. :* Autotransformer - a transformer with only one winding. Different portions of the winding, accessed with taps, act as primary and secondary windings of the transformer. :* Toroidal transformer - the core is in the shape of a toroid. This is a commonly used shape as it decreases the leakage flux, resulting in less electromagnetic interference. :*

Induction coil An induction coil or "spark coil" (archaically known as an inductorium or Ruhmkorff coil after Heinrich Rühmkorff) is a type of electrical transformer used to produce high-voltage pulses from a low-voltage direct current (DC) supply. p.98 To ...

or trembler coil - an early transformer which uses a vibrating interrupter mechanism to break the primary current so it can operate off of DC current. :** Ignition coil - an induction coil used in internal combustion engines to create a pulse of high voltage to fire the

spark plug A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air ...

which initiates the fuel burning. :* Balun - a transformer which matches a

balanced transmission line In electrical engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable or other structure designed to conduct electromagnetic waves in a contained manner. The term applies when the conductors are long enough that the wave nature of the transmis ...

to an unbalanced one. :* Bifilar coil - a coil wound with two parallel, closely spaced strands. If AC currents are passed through it in the same direction, the

magnetic flux In physics, specifically electromagnetism, the magnetic flux through a surface is the surface integral of the normal component of the magnetic field B over that surface. It is usually denoted or . The SI unit of magnetic flux is the weber ( ...

es will add, but if equal currents in opposite directions pass through the windings the opposite fluxes will cancel, resulting in zero flux in the core. So no voltage will be induced in a third winding on the core. These are used in instruments and in devices like Ground Fault Interrupters. They are also used in low inductance wirewound resistors for use at RF frequencies. :* Audio transformer - A transformer used with

s. They are used for impedance matching. :** Hybrid coil - a specialized audio transformer with 3 windings used in telephony circuits to convert between two-wire and four-wire circuits

Electric machines

Electric machines such as motors and generators have one or more windings which interact with moving magnetic fields to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy. Often a machine will have one winding through which passes most of the power of the machine (the "armature"), and a second winding which provides the magnetic field of the rotating element ( the "field winding") which may be connected by brushes or slip rings to an external source of electric current. In an

induction motor An induction motor or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which the electric current in the rotor needed to produce torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic field of the stator winding. An induction mot ...

, the "field" winding of the rotor is energized by the slow relative motion between the rotating winding and the rotating magnetic field produced by the stator winding, which induces the necessary exciting current in the rotor.

Transducer coils

These are coils used to translate time-varying magnetic fields to electric signals, and vice versa. A few types: :*Sensor or pickup coils - these are used to detect external time-varying magnetic fields :*

Inductive sensor An inductive sensor is a device that uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to detect or measure objects. An inductor develops a magnetic field when a current flows through it; alternatively, a current will flow through a circuit contain ...

- a coil which senses when a magnet or iron object passes near it :*

Recording head A recording head is the physical interface between a recording apparatus and a moving recording medium. Recording heads are generally classified according to the physical principle that allows them to impress their data upon their medium. A record ...

- a coil which is used to create a magnetic field to write data to a magnetic storage medium, such as

magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magne ...

, or a

hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...

. Conversely it is also used to read the data in the form of changing magnetic fields in the medium. :* Induction heating coil - an AC coil used to heat an object by inducing eddy currents in it, a process called induction heating. :*

Loop antenna A loop antenna is a radio antenna consisting of a loop or coil of wire, tubing, or other electrical conductor, that is usually fed by a balanced source or feeding a balanced load. Within this physical description there are two (possibly three) di ...

- a coil which serves as a

radio antenna In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies an ...

, to convert radio waves to electric currents. :*

Rogowski coil A Rogowski coil, named after Walter Rogowski, is an electrical device for measuring alternating current (AC) or high-speed current pulses. It sometimes consists of a helical coil of wire with the lead from one end returning through the centre o ...

- a toroidal coil used as an AC measuring device :* Musical instrument pickup - a coil used to produce the output

in an electric guitar or electric bass. :* Flux gate - a sensor coil used in a

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...

:* Magnetic phonograph cartridge - a sensor in a record player that uses a coil to translate vibration of a needle to an audio signal in playing vinyl

phonograph record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

s. There are also types of coil which don't fit into these categories.

Winding technology

References

External links

Coil Inductance Calculator
Online calculator for determining the inductance of single-layer and multilayer coils * R. Clarke, "
Producing wound components
'". Surrey.ac.uk, 2005 October 9 {{Authority control