MARIA ASSUMPTA CONVENT SCHOOL

Physics INVESTIGATORY
PROJECt
(2022-2023)
To study the factor on which the self
inductance of a coil depends.

SUBMITTED BY: Pankaj bhatt (XII-C)

SUBMITTED TO:mrs Vaishali tandon
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel proud to present my investigatory project

in chemistry on the topic ” To study the factor
on which the self inductance of a coil
depends.’’

I extent my hearty thanks to Mrs. Vaishali

Ma’am, physics teacher who helped me, gave
me moral support and knowledge about the
subject and also the library which provided us
books for detailed idea about the project.

Last but not the least I would like to thank my

parents and my friends who gave me complete
support and help to do this project. Without all
of these people this project would never have
been complete.
 Certificate

This is to certify that “Pankaj Bhatt” the

student of class 12th ‘C’ has successfully
completed the research project on the
topic“To study the factor on which the self
inductance of a coil depends.’’.” under the
guidance of Mrs Vaishali tandon
This project is absolutely genuine and does
not indulge in plagiarism of any kind. The
references taken in making this project
have been declared at the end of this
project.

Internal Examiner Principal

External Examiner
AIM:-
To study the factor on which the self inductance of a
coil d ep ends b y obs erving the effect of this coil, when put
in series with a resistor (bulb) in a circuit fed up b y an A.C.
source of adjustable frequency.

APPARATUS: -
A coil of large turns, a.c. source of adjustable frequency,
an electrical bulb, (6V) a.c. ammeter of suitable rang e
rheostat, a soft iron rod, one way key, connecting wires
etc.

THEORY:-
Self inductance is the property of a coil which opp os es the
chang e in current throug h it. The self inductance of a coil
(long solenoid) is μo μ 2
rN A
0 r
L=
l
μ
where µ r = Relative magnetic permeability of magnetic material, µr =
N =Total number of turns in solenoid μ0

A = Area of cross-section of

solenoid l = Length of solenoid

Hence, the self inductance depends

upon
1. No. of turns in solenoid
2. Geometry of coil, L A ,L 1/l
3. Nature of core material, L µ
W hen an inductor is connected in series with a resistor (bulb) with a
v ariable source of frequency , then current flow ing in the bulb is

Erms
I rm s = Z
 • Procedure
• Make all connections as shown incircuit diagram. CIRCIUT DIAGRAM

• Switch on the A.C. supply and adjust

the constant current in thecircuit by
using the variable resistor(R1)
(let frequency of source is
60Hz and voltage is 6V).
• Record the current in A.C.ammeter
and see the brightness ofbulb.

• Now, put the soft iron rod insidethe inductor

• core and record thecurrent in A.C. ammeter
• and againcheck the brightness of bulb. The
•
•
current and brightness both decreases.
•
• Now, switch off the supply anddecrease the frequency of A.C.source
(say 50 Hz).

• Again switch on the supply andadjust the current in circuit at

sameconstant voltage 6V by using therheostat. Note the current
inammeter and brightness of bulb.The current and brightness bothwill
increases.

• Again insert the iron in the core ofcoil and note the current
andbrightness. The current andbrightness both decreases.

• Repeat the steps 5, 6 and 7 fordifferent frequency of A.C. source(say 40

Hz,30 Hz and 20 Hz).
where Z = √R +ω L = Impedance of the a.c. circuit
2 2 2

Here R = Resistance of bulb

L = Self inductance of coil

ω = 2πf = Angular frequency of a.c. source.

The brightness of bulb i.e., Heat generated in bulb is
H = IrmeZt
2

I2
P= H = rms Z
t
P= I2
rms √ R2 + ω2 L2

OBSERSATION:-
1.
Least count of ammeter = A
2.
Zero error of ammeter= A
3.
Range of ammeter= A
S. Frequenc y of Current in ammeter Current in ampere
No. applied vo ltag e w ithout iron ro d in with iron ro d in coil (A)
coil (A)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

RESULT :-
1. The current in the circuit decrease on inserting the iron rod in
the core of coil at constant frequent of applied voltage and
brightness of bulb decrease and vice-versa.
2. The current in the circuit increase on decreasing the
frequency of
applied voltage and vice-versa. Therefore, the brightness
of bulb increase.
 • PRECAUTIONS:-
1. The coil should have number of turn.
2. Current should be passed for a small time to avoid the heating
effect.
3. There should not be parallax in taking the reading of ammeter.

• SOU R CE OF ERROR:-
1. The resistance of circuit mat increase slightly due to heating effect
of current.
2. There m a y be eddy current in soft iron coil.

In electromagnetism and electronics, inductance is the property of an

electrical conductor by which a c ha ng e in current throug h it induces
an electromotive force in b oth the conductor itself a nd in a ny nearby
conductors by mutual inductance.

These effects are derived from two fundamental obser vations of physics:
a steady current creates a stea dy magnetic field described b y Oersted’s
law, and a time-varying mag netic field induces a n electromotive force
(EMF) in nearby conductors, which is described b y Faraday’s law of
induction. According to Lenz’s law a cha ng ing electric current thr ough a
circuit that contains inductance induces a proportional voltage, which
opposes the cha ng e in current (self-inductance). The varying field in this
circuit m a y also induce a n E MF in neighb oring circuits (mutual
inductance).

The term inductance wa s coined b y Oliver Hea viside in 1886. It is

customary to use the symb ol L for inductance, in honors of the physicist
Heinrich Lenz in the SI system, the m easur ement unit for inductance is
the Henry, with the unit symb ol H, na med in honor of Joseph Henr y who
discovered inductance independently of, but not before, Faraday.

Lenz's law nam ed after the physicist Heinrich Lenz who formulated it in
1834, says:

The direction of current induced in a conductor by a changing magnetic

field due to Faraday’s law of induction will be suc h that it will create a
field
that opposes the change that produced it.
Lenz's law is shown by the negative sign in Faraday’s law of
induction:-

which indicates that the induced voltage and the change in magnetic
flux have opposite signs. It is a qualitative law that specifies the
direction of induced current but s a ys nothing about its magnitude.
Lenz's Law explains the direction of m a ny effects in electromagnetism,
such a s the direction of voltage induced in an inductor or wire loop by
a changing current, or why eddy currents exert a drag force on moving
objects in a magnetic field.

Lenz's law can be seen as analogous to Newton’s third law in

classic mechanics.

For a rigorous mathematicaltreatment, see electromagnetic induction

and Maxwell’s equations.
Inductors do this by generating a self-induced emf within itself as a
result of their chang ing magnetic field. In an electrical circuit, when
the emf is induced in the sam e circuit in which the current is
changing this effect is called Self-induction, ( L ) but it is sometimes
commonly called back-emf as its polarity is in the opposite direction to
the applied voltage.

When the emf is induced into an adjacent component situated within

the s am e magnetic field, the emf is said to be induced by -induction,
(M) and mutual induction is the basic operating principal of
transformers, motors, relays etc. Self inductance is a special case of
mutual inductance, and because it is produced within a single
isolated circuit we generally call self- inductance simply, Inductance.
The basic unit of measurement for inductance is called the Henry, (H)
after Jos eph Henry, but it also has the units of Webers per Ampere (
1 H = 1 Wb/A ).

Lenz’s Law tells us that an induced emf generates a current in a

direction which opposes the change in flux which caused the emf in the
first place, the principal of action and reaction. Then we can accurately
define Inductance as being: “a coil will have an inductance value of one
Henry when an emf of one volt is induced in the coil were the current
flowing through the said coil changes at a rate of one ampere/second”.

In other words, a coil has an inductance, ( L ) of one Henry, ( 1H ) when

the current flowing through it changes at a rate of one
ampere/second, ( A/s ) inducing a voltage of one volt, ( V L ) in it. This
mathematical representation of the rate of change in current through
a coil per unit time is given as:
di = (A/s)
dt
Where: di is the change in the current in Amperes and dt is the time
taken for this current chang e in seconds. Then the voltage induced in a
coil, ( V L ) with an inductance of L Henries as a result of this change in
current is expressed as:

di
VL = -L dt (V)

Note that the negative sign indicates that voltage induced

opposes the change in current through the coil per unit time (di/dt).

From the above equation, the inductance of a coil can therefore be

presented as:

Inductance of a Coil
VL 1 volt
L= di/dt = 1 A/ s = 1Henry

Where: L is the inductance in Henries, V L is the voltage across the

coil and di/dt is the rate of change of current in Amperes per second,
A/s.
Inductance, L is actually a meas ur e of an inductors
“resistance” to the change of the current flowing through
the circuit and the larger is its value in Henries, the lower
will be the rate of current change.

We know from the previous tutorial ab out the inductor,

that inductors are d evices that can store their energy in
the form of a magnetic field. Inductors are mad e from
individual loops of wire comb ined to produce a coil and if
the numb er of loops within the coil are increased, then for
the s ame amount of current flowing through the coil, the
magnetic flux will also increase.

So b y increasing the numb er of loops or turns within a

coil, increases the coils inductance. Then the relationship
between self-inductance, ( L ) and the numb er of turns, ( N
) and for a simple single layered coil can be given as:

Self Inductance of a Coil

Where: φ
• L is in Henries L= N I
•
N is the Number of Turns
•
• Φ is the Magnetic Flux
• Linkage Ι is in Amperes

This expression can also be defined as

the flux linkage divided by the current
flowing through each turn. This
equation only applies to linear
magnetic materials.