MISN-0-144

SELF-INDUCTANCE AND INDUCTORS

SELF-INDUCTANCE AND INDUCTORS by Peter Signell Michigan State University 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Self-Inductance L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 a. The Denition of L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 b. L When the Flux is Known . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 c. L for a Toroidal Solenoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

A r

3. L/ for a Coaxial Cable a. Physical Description of a Coaxial Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 b. Getting B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 c. Getting L/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4. Inductive Energy In a Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 a. Energy Needed to Set up a Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 b. The Energy is Recoverable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 c. Location of the Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 d. Energy Flow When a Current is Stopped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Project PHYSNET Physics Bldg. Michigan State University East Lansing, MI

ID Sheet: MISN-0-144 THIS IS A DEVELOPMENTAL-STAGE PUBLICATION OF PROJECT PHYSNET The goal of our project is to assist a network of educators and scientists in transferring physics from one person to another. We support manuscript processing and distribution, along with communication and information systems. We also work with employers to identify basic scientic skills as well as physics topics that are needed in science and technology. A number of our publications are aimed at assisting users in acquiring such skills. Our publications are designed: (i) to be updated quickly in response to eld tests and new scientic developments; (ii) to be used in both classroom and professional settings; (iii) to show the prerequisite dependencies existing among the various chunks of physics knowledge and skill, as a guide both to mental organization and to use of the materials; and (iv) to be adapted quickly to specic user needs ranging from single-skill instruction to complete custom textbooks. New authors, reviewers and eld testers are welcome. PROJECT STAFF Andrew Schnepp Eugene Kales Peter Signell Webmaster Graphics Project Director

Title: Self-Inductance and Inductors Author: Peter Signell, Michigan State University Version: 1/25/2001 Length: 1 hr; 12 pages Input Skills: 1. Vocabulary: solenoid, toroid, inductance, induced voltage, induced current, induced magnetic eld, Faraday-Henry law, Lenzs law (MISN-0-142). 2. Use Amperes law to determine the magnetic eld due to a long straight current (MISN-0-138). Output Skills (Knowledge): K1. Vocabulary: coaxial cable, henry, inductor, self-inductance. K2. Write down Amperes Law and from it derive the self-inductance of a toroidal solenoid, explicitly justifying each step. K3. Write down Amperes Law and from it derive the self-inductance per unit length of a coaxial cable, explicitly justifying each step. K4. Starting from the relation between power, voltage and current in a steady state circuit, derive the energy stored in the electric eld of an inductor. K5. Describe the ow of energy: (a) when the current through an inductor is increased; (b) when the current through an inductor is very gradually decreased; and (c) when the current through an inductor is quickly decreased. Post-Options: 1. Two Element DC-Driven LRC Circuits (MISN-0-151). 2. Velocity of a Signal in a Coaxial Cable (MISN-0-150). Evaluation: Stage 0

ADVISORY COMMITTEE D. Alan Bromley E. Leonard Jossem A. A. Strassenburg Yale University The Ohio State University S. U. N. Y., Stony Brook

Views expressed in a module are those of the module author(s) and are not necessarily those of other project participants. c 2001, Peter Signell for Project PHYSNET, Physics-Astronomy Bldg., Mich. State Univ., E. Lansing, MI 48824; (517) 355-3784. For our liberal use policies see: http://www.physnet.org/home/modules/license.html.

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SELF-INDUCTANCE AND INDUCTORS by Peter Signell Michigan State University

A
1. Introduction
A solenoid or a toroid, sometimes of miniature size, is used in electronic circuits to: (1) slow the rate of change of electric current; (2) tune a circuit to a particular oscillational frequency; or (3) control the speed of transmission of signals. In these applications one is making use of the fact that a change in the current going though the device produces a change in the associated magnetic eld and that in turn induces a current that opposes the change in the original current. A device used in that manner is called an inductor and the strength of its change-opposing character is called its self-inductance or simply its inductance. This (self) inductance is measured in the S.I. unit called the henry, so a circuit designer may specify an inductor of, say, 35 milli-henries to achieve one of the three above-mentioned aims.

r
Figure 1. A toroidal solenoid. Here L is a proportionality constant that depends on the geometry of the inductor and the inductors material: it is called the inductors inductance. An inductors inductance can be much enhanced by placing its loops of wire around a magnetic material such as iron. 2b. L When the Flux is Known. If one knows the ux through the surface bounded by a circuit, then the self-inductance can be determined by integrating Eq. (1) to get: = LI . (2)

2. Self-Inductance L
2a. The Denition of L. Inductance in general includes potentials and currents induced in one conductor by a time-changing current in another conductor, but self-inductance refers to potentials and currents that are induced in a single conductor by its own time-changing current. A device used for this purpose usually has the shape of a solenoid or a toroid. A current owing through an inductor of course sets up a magnetic eld so changes in the current produce changes in the magnetic eld. Such changes produce an induced voltage drop in the inductor, a voltage drop that opposes the change in the current. The magnitude of the induced voltage is proportional to the time-rate-of-change of the current, as we have seen,1 so we write: dI . (1) Vind = L dt
1 See

For example, if the ux enclosed by a loop is 0.026 T m2 when the current in the loop is 1.3 A, then the inductance of the loop is L = 20 mH. If the inductor is altered to contain 15 successive loops glued together, then the ux met by the current will be increased by a factor of 15 and so will L. 2c. L for a Toroidal Solenoid. To nd the self-inductance of a toroidal solenoid, we use Amperes law and we draw the integration loop as a circle of radius r from the center of the toroid (see Fig. 1). If r is less than the inner radius of the toroid, there is zero current going through any surface bounded by the integration loop. If r is between the inner and outer radii of the toroid the the current going through the enclosed surface is N I where N is the number of turns of wire carrying the current I. If r is greater than the outer radius of the toroid, there is again zero net current going through any surface bounded by the integration loop (the current going one direction through the surface is exactly canceled by the current going the other way through the surface). Then by Amperes law, the magnetic eld inside the solenoidal loops is: B(r) = 2 km N I . r (3)

Magnetic Inductance, MISN-0-142.

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dielectric (usually white, flexible)

braided wire sheath V0

cable R
Figure 3. Longitudinal view of a coaxial cable in a hypothetical circuit.

center wire (solid) plastic skin

Figure 2. Cross-section of a coaxial cable.

down one conductor and exactly the same amount of current ows in the opposite direction in the other conductor. One can imagine a voltage source connected between the inner and outer conductors at one end of the cable and a resistor connected between them at the other end, as in Fig. 3. We will assume that the current traveling the inner wire is along its surface, at a radius ri (a good assumption for high-frequency waves). We will call the radius of the outer conductor ro . 3b. Getting B. For self-inductance we need ux per unit current, and for ux we need the magnetic eld. For a coaxial cable the entire magnetic eld is between the two conductors. That is easily seen because by Amperes law there is zero net current crossing a cross-sectional area larger than the outside conductor (remember that the currents in the two conductors are equal but opposite in direction). For the region between the two conductors, Amperes law immediately shows that the magnetic eld is simple that of the inner conductor. For a long straight wire it is:2 B= 2 km I , r

If the radius of each loop is much smaller than the toroidal radius, then r will vary little over the cross-sectional area A of each loop and we can take r as a constant. To get the ux in a single loop of the winding, we need merely multiply the B by the loop area A. Then for the N windings in the inductor: 2 km N 2 I A = N AB = . (4) r Then from Eq. (2): 2 km N 2 A . (5) L= r Typical numbers for a circuit toroid will give an extremely small inductance unless the ux is enhanced through the use of an iron core inside the solenoidal loops. This enhancement may be by a factor of ve thousand or more.

and of course the direction of the eld is everywhere perpendicular to the outward cylindrical radius from the inner wire. 3c. Getting L/ . To get the ux in our coaxial cable we must integrate the component of the magnetic eld normal to a surface bounded by the loop of electrical current. To make it easy we choose a surface that is
2 Apply Amperes law in your head or see Magnetic Fields from Currents, MISN0-138.

3. L/ for a Coaxial Cable

3a. Physical Description of a Coaxial Cable. Physically, a coaxial cable looks like a fat round wire: a good example is the cable that feeds television programs to TV sets from a cable company. If you were to cut through such a cable you would see a central conducting wire surrounded by a dielectric material (usually exible white plastic). This insulating material is surrounded by a cylindrical sheath woven from conducting wires (woven to make it exible). That outer conductor is, in turn, covered by a thin skin of exible insulating plastic (see Fig. 2). Current ows
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A B

D C
Figure 4. A longitudinal view of the coaxial cable showing the integration surface ABCD for obtaining the ux.

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radial, running between the two conductors and along the length of the cable (see Fig. 4). Now the element of ux at a particular radius is just the value of B there times the element of area at that radius: d = (B) dA = where 2 km I r dr .

4b. The Energy is Recoverable. The energy expended in setting up a current in an inductor is recoverable if the circuits voltage source is removed. Assuming there is still a complete circuit without the voltage source, the inductor will keep the current owing until the energy of Eq. (7) has been completely dissipated in the circuits resistances or perhaps transferred to a capacitance for storage there. 4c. Location of the Energy. We describe the energy of Eq. (7) as being stored in the magnetic eld of the inductor. That stored energy was zero in the beginning of our example, when the circuit current was zero so the inductors magnetic eld was zero. As the current, hence the inductors magnetic eld, increased the energy in the magnetic eld increased as the circuits voltage source supplied energy to the eld. If the current became steady, the inductors magnetic eld became steady along with it and there was no longer a transfer of energy from the voltage source to the inductors eld. However, the energy stored in the inductors magnetic eld stays stored there. 4d. Energy Flow When a Current is Stopped. Suppose a steady current is owing in a circuit containing an inductor, and then one opens a switch so current can presumably no longer ow: what happens to the energy stored in the inductors magnetic eld? The answer is that as the switch is opened the current will drop quickly, creating a large induced voltage that ionizes the air across the switch gap and thus causes an electric arc. The energy stored in the inductors magnetic eld is thus dissipated in chemical and heat energy in breaking down the air in the switch gap and in burning the contact points in the switch and in burning anything else in the vicinity. In fact, the stored energy in a large inductor can be extremely dangerous to anyone attempting to stop the current in a hurry.

is the length of the cable. Integrating,

ro

d =
ri

2 km I r

dr = 2 km I

n (ro /ri ) .

Finally, then, the self-inductance per unit length of cable is: L/ = / = 2 km n (ro /ri ) . I (6)

The total inductance for any particular piece of cable can be obtained by multiplying L/ by the pieces length.

4. Inductive Energy In a Circuit

4a. Energy Needed to Set up a Current. When a circuit switch is closed, starting a ow of current through a circuit, an inductor in the path of the current resists the rise of the current from zero by developing a counter-voltage drop (a voltage rise). The source of voltage in the circuit must push the current past this voltage rise, doing work equal to the voltage rise times the amount of charge pushed through it. The power expended (the energy per unit time) is just the current (the charge per unit time) times the self-induced voltage: P =IL dI . dt

Acknowledgments
Preparation of this module was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, Division of Science Education Development and Research, through Grant #SED 74-20088 to Michigan State University.

Using P = dE/dt we can easily integrate both sides of: dE = I L dI 1 (7) L I2 . 2 This is the energy that must be expended by the circuits energy source in order to raise the circuit current from zero to the value I. E= to get:

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ME-1

Glossary
co-axial cable: a circuit element that looks like a long fat plasticcovered wire, containing in successive cylindrical layers: an inner solidwire conductor, a surrounding exible dielectric, and an outer braidedwire sheath. The circuits current goes down one conductor (solid or sheath) and back the other. henry: the SI unit of self-inductance, abbreviated H and dened to be an ohm-second. Thus: H s = V s A1 . inductor: a circuit element whose purpose is to provide selfinductance, an electrical circuit analog of mechanical inertia (mass). An inductor is usually in the shape of a solenoid or a toroid. The inductance of an inductor depends on the geometry of the inductor and the magnetic susceptibility of the materials of which the inductor is constructed. Inductors in electronic circuits typically are in the mH range. self-inductance: the negative of the induced voltage around a loop divided by the time-rate-of-change of magnetic ux through any surface bounded by that loop: L = Vinduced /. The minus sign shows that the induced voltage opposes the change in the ux. The SI unit of inductance is the henry (which see). Brief Answers: 1. See this modules text.

MODEL EXAM
1. See Output Skills K1-K5 in this modules ID Sheet. As usual, Vocabulary means dening the words as well as being able to use them properly.

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