© by Tony van Roon

Coil/Inductance History:
First a bit of history about this remarkable invention of 'electro-
magnetism'. Joseph Henry (1797-1878), was one of the many
brilliant US scientists who invented and used the electro-magnetic
'coil' in his university laboratory. His low-power electro-magnet
could control a make-and-break switch in a high-power circuit.
Henry believed the potential was in the electro-magnet's use as a
control system or device in manufacture, but he was only really
interested in the science of the electricity. The electro-magnet or
'relay' was a laboratory trick to entertain his students. Samuel Morse
later adapted Henry's electro-magnetic-relay device after re-
designing it (and claiming it as his own by
patent) using thinner wire, to carry morse-code
signals over long kilometers of wire.

In 1846, Joseph Henry was professor of natural philosophy (physics) at the

College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University). He had
published scientific articles on a wide variety of subjects, including electro
magnetism, optics, acoustics, astrophysics, molecular forces, and terrestrial
magnetism, but his reputation was built primarily on his work in basic and
applied electro magnetism. Among his discoveries in electro magnetism were
mutual induction, self-induction, the electro magnetic relay--enabling him to devise the first
electro magnetic telegraph that could be used over long distances--and the concept of the electric
transformer. He also invented the first electric motor. Henry was often referred to as the scientific
successor to Benjamin Franklin. Today, it is the general opinion that Joseph Henry was the
inventor of the telegraph and not Samuel Morse, who did not have a technical background to
begin with. Samuel Morse adapted the ideas and inventions of Henry (and Vail) into his own and
patented it, making him the owner.

It is certain that Joseph Henry was important to the history of the telegraph in two ways. First, he
was responsible for major discoveries in electro magnetism, most significantly the means of
constructing electromagnets that were powerful enough to transform electrical energy into useful
mechanical work at a distance. Much of Morse's telegraph did indeed rest upon Henry's
discovery of the principles underlying the operation of such electromagnets.

Then in 1885, William Stanley (1858-1916), Jr. built the first practical alternating current device
based on Lucien Gaulard and Josiah Willard Gibbs' idea. This device was called an induction coil
and was very primitive. It was the precursor of the modern transformer. His coil became the
prototype for all future transformers and made practical the transmitting of electricity for
consumer uses such as lighting.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, William Stanley attended private schools before
enrolling at Yale University. He began to study law at age 21 but less than a
semester later left school to look for a job in the emerging field of electricity.
"Have had enough of this," wrote the 21-year-old Yale freshman in 1879. "Am
going to New York." With these words, William Stanley abandoned the career
pattern that his father had laid out for him - college, law school, and
membership in the family law firm - and set out instead on the more risky and
exciting path of electrical invention.
The decision marked the beginning of a productive career whose highlights
included the invention of the modern type of transformer, and the creation of the business
enterprise that was to become General Electric's Pittsfield Works.

Stanley's first job was as an electrician with one of the early manufacturers of telegraph keys and
fire alarms. He then worked in a metal-plating establishment before joining Hiram Maxim,
inventor of the machine gun and already a pioneer in the electrical industry. As Maxim's
assistant, Stanley directed one of the country's first electrical installations, in a store on New
York's Fifth Avenue. Stanley gave early evidence of his ability and enthusiasm. As his first
employer, inventor Hiram S. Maxim described him: "Mr. Stanley was very young. He was also
very tall and thin, but what he lacked in bulk, he made up for in activity. He was boiling over
with enthusiasm. Nothing went fast enough for him." This dynamism helped him gain an
outstanding reputation in the early electrical industry.

In the 1880s every system for distributing electricity used direct current (DC). But DC
transmission over long distances was impractical. Transmitting at low voltage required thick
wires. Transmitting at high voltage was dangerous and could not be reduced for consumer uses
such as lighting. It was known that alternating current (AC) voltage could be varied by use of
induction coils, but no practical coil system had been invented.

Inventor and industrialist George Westinghouse learned of

Stanley's accomplishments and hired him as his chief
engineer at his Pittsburgh factory. It was during this time
that Stanley began work on the transformer. Actually the
first practical AC transformer was developed by Frenchman
Lucien Gaulard and Englishman John Gibbs; improvements
were made at the Ganz company in Budapest. Westinghouse
instructed Stanley and his assistants, Schmid and
Shallenberger, to make tests to determine the commercial
value of the Gaulard and Gibbs system. He also arranged to
have a number of the transformers and a Siemens
alternating-current generator forwarded from England to
Pittsburgh. Stanley, working under the direction of Westinghouse, devised a further
improvement, which consisted in securing the enclosure of the coils by making the core of E-
shaped plates, the central projections of each successive plate being alternately inserted through
prewound coils from opposite sides, thus permitting separate winding and consequently the
better insulation of the coils. This form was further improved by Albert Schmid, who extended
the ends of the arms of the E to meet the central projection. When inserting these plates the
extensions were temporarily bent upward, and upon being released each plate formed a closed
magnetic circuit about the sides of the coils.

In 1885, ill health almost cut short his career--some say he worked himself too hard. But it
proved a disguised blessing, because it necessitated a move to his family home, Great
Barrington, Massachusetts. In those peaceful surroundings, he was able to develop some ideas he
had suggested two years earlier to his employer, George Westinghouse (who helped finance
Stanley's lab) for a new type of transformer. This work resulted, on March 20, 1886, in the
demonstration of a prototype system of high voltage transmission employing Stanley's parallel
connected transformer. This system was used by him to provide lighting for offices and stores on
the town's Main Street.
Stanley received a patent on his transformer: "Induction-Coil", Patent No. 349,611. These
various inventions and discoveries led up within a year to commercial production of transformers
of high efficiency and excellent regulating qualities. The development was a fine engineering
performance in speed and in quality. The most important single contribution was by Stanley. He
brought out the parallel connection in which the transformers are connected in parallel, across
the constant-potential alternating-current system, instead of being arranged in series, as in the
Gaulard and Gibbs connection. He obtained patents on the method, involving the construction of
transformers in which the counter electromotive force generated in the primary coil of the
transformer was practically equal to the electromotive force of the supply circuit. This is obvious
now, but in 1886, when the principles and characteristics of the alternating current were
practically unknown, it was a wonderful invention, and revolutionary in character.
On this invention Stanley's fame largely rests. Of course Stanley did not discover or invent a
theory of counter electromotive force before any one else had thought of it. Such fundamental
things seldom happen in invention. His claim to great and original merit rests on the discovery of
a theory which was new to him and the use of it in making a structure of immense importance in
the affairs of men. Briefly, all transformers now made are built upon practically the same
principles as those that were developed in these early products of the Westinghouse Company.

Assisted by William Stanley, George Westinghouse worked to refine the transformer design and
build a practical AC power network. In 1886, Westinghouse and Stanley installed the first
multiple-voltage AC power system in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The network was driven
by a hydro power generator that produced 500 volts AC. The voltage was stepped up to 3,000
volts for transmission, and then stepped back down to 100 volts to power electric lights.
In 1890 Stanley established the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company in Pittsfield,
Massachusetts, to make transformers and auxiliary electrical equipment as well as electrical
appliances. To organize it, he joined forces with two talented associates: John J. Kelley, an
outstanding designer of motors: and a former Stanley laboratory worker, Cummings C. Chesney.
The company was purchased by General Electric in 1903. Stanley also developed the alternating-
current watt-hour meter, making it possible to measure electricity use with a high level of
accuracy. Stanley with E. P. Thomson had also invented an incandescent lamp with a filament of
carbonized silk. During his lifetime he was granted 129 patents covering a wide range of electric
 devices. William Stanley died on May 14, 1916.

Inductance:
Inductance (L) is the property of an electrical circuit
whereby changes in current flowing in the circuit
produces changes in the magnetic field such that a
counter EMF is set up in that circuit or in neighboring
ones. If the counter EMF is set up in the original circuit,
it is called self-inductance and if it is set up in
neighboring circuit it is called mutual inductance.
The unit of inductance is the Henry (H) and is defined
as that value of inductance in which an induced EMF of
one volt is produced when the inducing current is varied
at the rate of one ampere per second. The henry is
commonly sub-divided into several smaller units, the
milliHenry (10-3 Henry) abbreviated mH, the
microHenry (10-6 Henry) abbreviated µH, and the
nanoHenry (10-12 Henry) abbreviated nH.
The storage of energy in a magnetic filed is expressed
in joules and is equal to LI2/2 and the dimensions are in
watt-seconds.

Mutual
Inductance:
When one coil is
near another, a
varying current
in one will
produce a
varying magnetic field which cuts the turns of the other
coil, inducing a current in it. This induced current is also varying, and will therefore induce
another current in the first coil. This reaction between two couple circuits is called mutual
inductance, and can be calculated and expressed in henrys.
The symbol for mutual inductance is M. Two circuits thus joined are said to be inductively
coupled.
Tee magnitude of the mutual inductance depends on the shape and size of the two circuits, their
positions and distances apart, and the permeability of the medium. The extent to which two
inductors coupled is expressed by a relation known as coefficient of coupling (k). This is the ratio
of the mutual inductance actually present at the maximum possible value.
Thus, when k is 1, the coils have the maximum degree of mutual induction.
The mutual inductance of two coils can be formulated in terms of the individual inductances and

the coefficient of coupling with the formula:

Inductors in Series:
Inductors in series are, just like resistors, additive. Provided that no mutual inductance exists.
In this case, the total inductance L is: L = L1 + L2 + ... etc.
 Where mutual inductance does exist: L = L1 + L2 +
2M
Where M is the mutual inductance.

This latter expression assumes that the coils are

connected in such a way that all flux linkages are in
the same direction, i.e. additive. If this is not the case and the mutual
linkages subtract from the self-linkages, the following formula should be
used: L = L1 + L2 - 2M
Where M is the mutual inductance.

"Why is this picture from Nikola Tesla here" you may ask. Well, like
Joseph Henry, Tesla was decades ahead of time. Tesla had his own
variety of "transformer" look-alike while experimenting with his high-voltage inventions.

Core Material:
Ordinary magnetic cores cannot be used for radio frequencies because the "eddy current and
hysteresis losses" in the core material become enormous as the frequency is increased. The
principal use for conventional magnetic cores is in the audio frequency range below
approximately 15,000 hertz, whereas at very low frequencies (50 or 60Hz) their use is mandatory
if an appreciable value of inductance is desired.

Copper Wire Table:

Below is part of an example of a so called "Copper Wire Table" with the most popular gauge #'s
and associated diameter in milli-meters. I did not specify the 'Mills' or 'Capacity' specs. A 'Mil' is
1/1000 (one thousandth) of an inch.
But this information can be found in the ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs which is available
at your local library.
Gauge Ohms per Diameter
(ga) 1000 feet in mm
18 6.510 1.024
19 8.210 .9116
20 10.35 .8118
21 13.05 .7230
22 16.46 .6438
23 20.76 .5733
24 26.17 .5106
25 33.00 .4547
26 41.62 .4049
27 52.48 .3606
28 66.17 .3211
29 83.44 .2859
30 105.2 .2546
31 132.7 .2268
32 167.3 .2019
33 211.0 .1798
34 266.0 .1601
35 335.0 .1426
36 423.0 .1270
37 533.4 .1131
38 672.6 .1007
39 848.1 .0897