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Q.Lenz's law is the consequence of conservation of :

(a) charge
(b) mass
(c) momentum
(d) energy
Punjab PsebPSEB Punjab Class 12 Board 2023MCQ· 1mImportance★★★★★
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Concept understanding — Electromagnetic Induction

Electromagnetic Induction

Electromagnetic induction is the phenomenon in which a changing magnetic flux through a circuit produces an electromotive force (emf) — and hence a current, if the circuit is closed. It is the single idea behind generators, transformers, inductors, and the entire AC power grid.

The Central Discovery

Michael Faraday found (1831) that a current is induced in a coil not when a magnet sits still near it, but only while the magnet moves — that is, only while the magnetic flux linked with the coil is changing. A steady magnet, however strong, induces nothing.

Magnetic Flux

The key quantity is magnetic flux ΦB\Phi_B through a surface of area AA in a field B⃗\vec{B}:

ΦB=B⃗⋅A⃗=BAcos⁡θ\Phi_B = \vec{B} \cdot \vec{A} = BA\cos\theta

where θ\theta is the angle between B⃗\vec{B} and the area's normal. Its SI unit is the weber (Wb), where 1 Wb=1 T⋅m21\ \text{Wb} = 1\ \text{T}\cdot\text{m}^2.

Flux can change in three distinct ways, and any of them induces an emf:

  • the field strength BB changes,
  • the area AA of the loop changes,
  • the orientation θ\theta changes (a coil rotating in a field — the basis of the generator).

Faraday's Law

The induced emf equals the negative rate of change of flux. For a coil of NN turns:

E=−N dΦBdt\mathcal{E} = -N\,\frac{d\Phi_B}{dt}

The faster the flux changes, the larger the emf. This is why a magnet dropped quickly through a coil gives a bigger deflection than one moved slowly.

Lenz's Law — the Minus Sign

The negative sign expresses Lenz's law: the induced current flows in the direction that opposes the change producing it. Push a magnet's north pole toward a coil, and the coil's near face becomes a north pole to repel it; pull it away, and the face becomes a south pole to attract it. This is simply energy conservation — you must do work against this opposition, and that work becomes the electrical energy of the induced current.

Motional emf

A special, very useful case: a conducting rod of length ll moving with speed vv perpendicular to a field BB sweeps out area and develops an emf

E=Blv\mathcal{E} = Blv

Here the emf arises because the free charges in the rod experience a magnetic force qv⃗×B⃗q\vec{v}\times\vec{B}, which drives them along the rod. …

Why this formula?

Electromagnetic Induction

Electromagnetic induction is the effect discovered by Faraday: a changing magnetic flux through a circuit drives an induced EMF (and hence a current). The key word is changing — a steady field, however strong, induces nothing.

Magnetic flux

Flux measures how many field lines thread a surface bounded by the loop:

ΦB=∫B⃗⋅dA⃗=BAcos⁡θ\Phi_B = \int \vec{B} \cdot d\vec{A} = BA\cos\theta

It can change three ways: by changing BB, by changing the area AA, or by rotating the loop (changing θ\theta).

Faraday's law

The induced EMF equals the rate of change of flux:

E=−dΦBdt\mathcal{E} = -\frac{d\Phi_B}{dt}

For a coil of NN turns, E=−N dΦBdt\mathcal{E} = -N\,\dfrac{d\Phi_B}{dt}. The EMF depends on how fast the flux changes, not on the flux itself — a slow change gives a small EMF, a rapid change a large one.

Lenz's law — the minus sign …

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