The interactive animation provides an introduction to the law of electromagnetic induction. A metal cylinder is shown that can be moved interactively through a magnetic field. Inside the metal cylinder, blue beads indicate the electric current.
Note on use
As with all animations, the windows can be enlarged or reduced by clicking on them.
After starting the application, you can view the animation in full-screen mode. To do this, click on “View” and then on “Full screen”:
To exit full screen mode, press the Esc key.
Description of the animation
The animation shows a 3D model with a horseshoe magnet in the top left-hand window. Inside the magnetic field is a cylindrical conductor. The electrons are represented by blue spheres.
The magnetic field of the horseshoe magnet can be faded in and out as required.
The objects are displayed in a profile view in the top right-hand window. In this view, the conductor can be moved with the mouse.
The law of induction predicts that the electrons will start to move if the material is moved at a 90-degree angle to the field lines of the magnetic field.
The law of induction can also be expressed by the following formula, which describes the conditions for a current-carrying wire more directly:
The formula indicates that the level of the induction voltage is proportional to the speed of movement of the material.
The dependence of the induction voltage on speed can be visualised using the curve display in the bottom right-hand window.
The field lines of the magnetic fields can also be shown in the animation.
Ampère’s flow law predicts that a circular magnetic field forms around a current-carrying conductor.
Note: μ₀ is the magnetic field constant. The resulting magnetic field can also be displayed in the profile view.
The resulting magnetic field is created by combining the dynamic magnetic field around the conductor with the static magnetic field of the horseshoe magnet.
The Lorentz force law describes the force acting on the current-carrying conductor in the magnetic field.
This force acts against the direction of movement of the material. This means that not only is a distance travelled to move the material, but a force is also applied. In other words, mechanical work is expended.
In technical applications, this work is performed by a turbine, for example. The turbine can be driven by steam or – in the case of a wind turbine – also by the wind.
Note: The animation takes into account the difference between the technical and physical direction of current. Electrons are indicated by blue spheres and show the physical direction of the current. The symbolism of the dot and cross refers to the technical direction of the current.
Overview and Download
| Title | Electromagnetic induction 1 |
| Target group | Teachers and lecturers |
| Platforms | Microsoft® Windows® Apple® Macintosh® (version dependent) |
| Features | Full screen mode lossless zoom Large screens and projection screens supported |
| Licence | Freeware |
| Download | Contact us |
Contributors
C. Hein, S. Rikowski
Sources
- Authoring tool: Adobe Animate
- 3D engine for 3D model: Papervision3D 2.0
- 3D rotations: Algorithm taken from Federico Calvo: http://blog.federicocalvo.com/2009/03/papervision-3d-sphere-globla-axis.html
- Curved field lines: Bezier3D class by Aleksandar Mancic
- Authoring tool (control elements included): Adobe Animate
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