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Q.Two identical coils, one of copper and the other of aluminium are rotated with the same angular speed in an external magnetic field. In which of the two coils will the induced current be more ?

CBSECBSE Class XII Board 2020Subjective· 1mImportance★★★★★
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The induced current depends on the coil’s resistance. Copper has lower resistivity than aluminium, so the copper coil has less resistance and will carry a larger induced current for the same induced emf.

The key idea here is that induced current is not the same as induced emf. When two identical coils (same number of turns, same area, same shape) rotate at the same angular speed in the same magnetic field, the induced emf in both is exactly equal. That’s because the rate of change of magnetic flux depends only on geometry and rotation speed — not on the material of the wire.

But current is emf divided by resistance. So the difference comes from the coil’s resistance, which depends on the material’s resistivity and the wire’s dimensions. Since the coils are identical in size and shape, the wire length and cross-section are the same. The only variable is the resistivity of copper versus aluminium.

Let’s walk through it step by step.

  1. Induced emf is the same for both coils.

    For a coil rotating in a uniform magnetic field, the flux through it at any instant is Φ=NBAcos⁡(ωt)\Phi = NBA\cos(\omega t), where NN is the number of turns, BB the field, AA the area, and ω\omega the angular speed. The induced emf is e=−dΦdt=NBAωsin⁡(ωt)e = -\frac{d\Phi}{dt} = NBA\omega \sin(\omega t). Since NN, AA, BB, and ω\omega are identical for both coils, the emf at every instant is the same.

  2. Current depends on resistance.

    By Ohm’s law, the induced current is i=eRi = \frac{e}{R}, where RR is the total resistance of the coil. The resistance of a wire is R=ρLAwireR = \rho \frac{L}{A_{\text{wire}}}, with ρ\rho the resistivity, LL the length of wire, and AwireA_{\text{wire}} its cross-sectional area. Because the coils are identical in construction, LL and AwireA_{\text{wire}} are the same for both. So the only difference is ρ\rho.

  3. Compare resistivities. …

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