Monday, 2 March 2015

Eddy currents in Durham


I've been teaching about eddy currents induced in metal by changing magnetic fields, Trouble is, not many students seem to know what an eddy is. I found some eddies on the River Wear near Durham. They are shortlived mini-whirlpools in the water. In the same way, an eddy current is a circular current loop that's really going nowhere. But it does act as a mini-electromagnet which can cause problems.