 Not capable of power gain

 Basic Passive Electrical Components

include
› Resistor
› Capacitor
› Inductor
 A coil of wire wound around a central
core
 A passive two-terminal electrical
component that stores electrical
energy in a magnetic field when electric
current is flowing through it.
 Inductors are formed with wire tightly
wrapped around a solid central core
which can be either a straight cylindrical
rod or a continuous loop or ring to
concentrate their magnetic flux.
 The core material of an inductor plays a large role in the
performance of an inductor.
 The core material directly impacts the inductance of the
inductor and will impact the maximum operating frequency,
and current capacity of the inductor. The types of inductor cores
include:
› Air Core - Higher frequency operation due to no core losses but a lower
inductance
› Iron Core - Low resistance with high inductance. Core losses, eddy
currents, magnetic saturation and hysteresis limit the operating
frequency and current
› Ferrite Core - Non-conductive ceramic material for higher frequency
operation. Magnetic saturation limits the current capacity
› Toroidal Core - A core shaped like a donut that reduces radiated EMI
and provides high inductance
› Laminated Core - High inductance with lower hysteresis and eddy
current losses
 Inductors resist or oppose changes of
current
 This ability of an inductor to resist
changes in current and which also
relates current, i with its magnetic flux
linkage, NΦ as a constant of
proportionality is
called Inductance which is given the
symbol L with units of Henry, (H)
 There are many factors which determine
the inductance of a coil such as
› The shape of the coil
› The number of turns of the insulated wire
› The spacing between the turns
› The permeability of the core material
› The size or cross-sectional area of the core
Where:

 N is the number of turns

 A is the cross-sectional Area in m2
 Φ is the amount of flux in Webers
 μ is the Permeability of the core material
 l is the Length of the coil in meters
 di/dt is the Current rate of change in
amps/second
 A time varying magnetic field induces a
voltage that is proportional to the rate of
change of the current producing it with a
positive value indicating an increase in emf
and a negative value indicating a
decrease in emf. The equation relating this
self-induced voltage, current and
inductance can be found by substituting
the μN2A / l with L denoting the constant of
proportionality called the Inductance of the
coil.
 Changes in Current induce emf in
opposite direction
 “the direction of an induced emf is such
that it will always opposes the change
that is causing it”
 Inductors act as short circuit when DC is
applied while they block AC
 When power flows into an inductor,
energy is stored in its magnetic field.
 When the current through the inductor is
decreasing, it means that the inductor is
returning energy back into the circuit.
Then by integrating the equation for
power above, the total magnetic
energy which is always positive, being
stored in the inductor is therefore given
as:
 Filtering Circuits
 Resonance Circuits
 Sensors
 Current Limiting
 To block or reshape alternating current or a
range of sinusoidal frequencies
 To “tune” a simple radio receiver or various
types of oscillators
 To protect sensitive equipment from
destructive voltage spikes and high inrush
currents
 Inductors are used extensively with
capacitors and resistors to create filters for
analog circuits and in signal processing
 Alone, an inductor functions as a low-pass
filter, since the impedance of an inductor
increases as the frequency of a signal
increases
 When combined with a capacitor, whose
impedance decreases as the frequency of
a signal increase, a notched filter can be
made that only allows a certain frequency
range to pass through.
 Contactless sensors are prized for their
reliability and ease of operation and
inductors can be used to sense
magnetic fields or the presence of
magnetically permeable material from a
distance.
 Eddy currents are loops of electrical current induced within conductors by a changing
magnetic field in the conductor, due to Faraday's law of induction
 Eddy currents flow in closed loops within conductors, in planes perpendicular to the
magnetic field
 They can be induced within nearby stationary conductors by a time-varying magnetic
field created by an AC electromagnet or transformer, for example, or by relative motion
between a magnet and a nearby conductor. The magnitude of the current in a given
loop is proportional to the strength of the magnetic field, the area of the loop, and the
rate of change of flux, and inversely proportional to the resistivity of the material.
 By Lenz's law, an eddy current creates a magnetic field that opposes the magnetic field
that created it, and thus eddy currents react back on the source of the magnetic field
 For example, a nearby conductive surface will exert a drag force on a moving magnet
that opposes its motion, due to eddy currents induced in the surface by the moving
magnetic field
 This effect is employed in eddy current brakes which are used to stop rotating power
tools quickly when they are turned off. The current flowing through the resistance of the
conductor also dissipates energy as heat in the material. Thus eddy currents are a cause
of energy loss in alternating current (AC) inductors, transformers, electric motors and
generators, and other AC machinery, requiring special construction such as laminated
magnetic cores or ferrite cores to minimize them. Eddy currents are also used to heat
objects in induction heating furnaces and equipment, and to detect cracks and flaws in
metal parts using eddy-current testing instruments.
 Skin effect is the tendency of an alternating electric current (AC)
to become distributed within a conductor such that the current
density is largest near the surface of the conductor, and
decreases with greater depths in the conductor
 The electric current flows mainly at the "skin" of the conductor,
between the outer surface and a level called the skin depth
 The skin effect causes the effective resistance of the conductor
to increase at higher frequencies where the skin depth is smaller,
thus reducing the effective cross-section of the conductor
 The skin effect is due to opposing eddy currents induced by the
changing magnetic field resulting from the alternating current
 At 60 Hz in copper, the skin depth is about 8.5 mm. At high
frequencies the skin depth becomes much smaller. Increased
AC resistance due to the skin effect can be mitigated by using
specially woven litz wire. Because the interior of a large
conductor carries so little of the current, tubular conductors such
as pipe can be used to save weight and cost.
Where:
 L is in Henries
 μο is the Permeability of Free Space
(4.π.10-7)
 N is the Number of turns
 A is the Inner Core Area (π.r 2) in m2
 l is the length of the Coil in metres