Electromagnet: driven by current
- June 17, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Electromagnet: driven by current
Sub: Science and tech
Electromagnets:
- Invented by William Sturgeon in 1824, electromagnets are crucial in various modern applications like loudspeakers, motors, MRI machines, maglev trains, and particle accelerators.
- They work by creating a magnetic field when an electric current flows through a coiled wire.
- This magnetic field is intensified if the wire is wrapped around a magnetic core, typically made of ferromagnetic metals like iron.
- Iron cores enhance the magnetic field because their internal atomic magnetic fields align with the external field produced by the current, amplifying the overall magnetic effect.
- The magnetic field exists as long as current flows through the coil, and some materials may retain weak magnetism even after the current stops.
- Superconducting electromagnets, used in MRI machines, utilize superconducting wire coiled around a core to generate extremely strong magnetic fields up to 30 tesla.
- Bitter electromagnets, another type, can produce fields up to 40 tesla by flowing current through wires coiled around a stack of electromagnets.
Uses of Electromagnets:
- Particle Accelerators
- Amplifiers
- Magnetic Separation
- Electric Motors and Generators
- MRI machines
- Control Switches in Relays
- Transportation
- Spacecraft Propulsion Systems
- Induction Heating
- Hard Drives
Disadvantages of Electromagnetism:
- They heat up very fast
- It consumes a lot of energy
- They can store huge amounts of energy in their magnetic field. If the electric current is interrupted, the energy will discharge
Source: TH