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One important property of the B-field produced this way is that magnetic B-field lines neither start nor end (mathematically, B is a solenoidal vector field); a field line may only extend to infinity, or wrap around to form a closed curve, or follow a never-ending (possibly chaotic) path. [34]
An electric current is a flow of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space. It is defined as the net rate of flow of electric charge through a surface. [1]: 2 [2]: 622 The moving particles are called charge carriers, which may be one of several types of particles, depending on the conductor.
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time, in contrast to direct current (DC), which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in which electric power is delivered to businesses and residences, and it is the form of electrical energy ...
This field causes, by electromagnetic induction, an electric current to flow in the wire loop on the right. The most widespread version of Faraday's law states: The electromotive force around a closed path is equal to the negative of the time rate of change of the magnetic flux enclosed by the path. [16] [17]
One henry is the inductance that will induce a potential difference of one volt if the current through it changes at a rate of one ampere per second. The inductor's behaviour is in some regards converse to that of the capacitor: it will freely allow an unchanging current, but opposes a rapidly changing one. [57]: 226–29
Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors , insulators , or even through a vacuum as in electron or ion beams .
A current clamp is a type of transformer with a split core which can be spread apart and clipped onto a wire or coil to either measure the current in it or, in reverse, to induce a voltage. Unlike conventional instruments the clamp does not make electrical contact with the conductor or require it to be disconnected during attachment of the clamp.
The return path for the current in any phase conductor is the other two phase conductors. Constant power transfer is possible with any number of phases greater than one. However, two-phase systems do not have neutral-current cancellation and thus use conductors less efficiently, and more than three phases complicates infrastructure unnecessarily.