ENTRY NUMBER 21

PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT

TOPIC: APPLICATIONS OF SELF-INDUCTANCE

By

RONALD M. SORIANO

February 2010

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 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

This is to certify that Ronald M. Soriano of

Zamboanga City High School (Main) has completed

the Investigatory Project in Physics titled “Study of

Applications of Self-Inductance” himself under the

supervision and guidance of Physics Teacher Mr.

Eduardo Esteban during the year 2009-2010

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I am deeply thankful to my Physics

teacher Mr. Eduardo Esteban for extending his
valuable and scholarly guidance throughout the
preparation of this project. I am also thankful to all
my respected teachers, library staff, office staff and
staff members of the Physics Laboratory of the
school. I am also thankful to the teachers and staff
members of the department of Physics for extending
their humanitarian and scholastic assistance in finding
out the solutions of some query during my work. Last
but not the least I am indebted to my friends,
classmates and parents for encouraging and never let
me down in my confidence while completing the
project.
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 INTRODUCTION

A.What is self-inductance?
•When an electric current is passed through an
insulated conducting coil, it gives rise to a magnetic
field in the coil so that the coil itself behaves like a
magnet.
•The magnetic flux produced by the current in the
coil is linked with the coil itself.
•As the strength of the current in the coil is changed,
the flux linked with the coil also changes. Under
such circumstances an emf is induced in the coil too.
Such emf is called a self-induced emf and this
phenomenon is known as self-induction.

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 AIM:

To study the factor on which the self inductance of a

coil depends by observing the effect of this coil,
when put in series with a resistor (bulb) in a circuit
fed up by an A.C. source of adjustable frequency.

APPARATUS:

A coil of large turns, a.c. source of adjustable

frequency, an electrical bulb, (6V) AC ammeter of
suitable range rheostat, a soft iron rod, one way key,
connecting wires etc.

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 THEORY:

Self inductance is the property of a coil which

opposes the change in current through it. The self
inductance of a coil (long solenoid) is

L= µ0 µrN2A/ l

Where µr, = Relative magnetic permeability of

magnetic material,

µr = µ/ µ0

N = Total number of turns in solenoid

A = Area of cross-section of solenoid

l= length of solenoid.

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Hence, the self inductance depends upon:

1. No. of turns (N), Lα N²

2. Geometry of coil, Lα A, L α(1/l)

3. Nature of core material, Lα µ

When an inductor is connected in series with a
resistor (bulb) with a variable source of frequency,
then current flowing in the bulb is
Irms = Erms/Z

Where, Z = √ R2 + ω2 = Impedance of the a.c. circuit.

Here
R= Resistance of the bulb

L = Self inductance of coil

ω = 2πf = Angular frequency of AC source

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CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

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 PROCEDURE
1. Make all connections as shown in the circuit diagram.

2. Switch on the AC supply & adjust the

current in the circuit by using the variable resistor (Rh).
3. Record the current in a.c. ammeter & seethe brightness of
bulb.

4. Now, put the soft iron rod inside the conductor core &
record the current in a.c. ammeter & again check the brightness
of bulb. The current & brightness both decreases.

5. Now, switch off the supply & decrease the frequency of

a.c. source (say 50 Hz).
6. Again switch on the supply & adjust the current in circuit at
same constant voltage 6 V by using the rheostat. Note the
current in ammeter & brightness of bulb. The current &
brightness both will increase.

7. Again insert the iron rod in the core of coil & note the
current & brightness. The current & brightness both decreases.

8. Repeat the steps 5, 6 and 7 for different frequency of a.c.

source.

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 OBSERVATIONS
1. Least count of ammeter = 0.05 A.

2. Zero error of ammeter = 0 A.

3. Range of ammeter = 0 – 5 A

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 RESULT
1. The current in the circuit decrease on inserting
the iron rod in the core of coil at constant frequency
of applied voltage &brightness of bulb decreases &
vice-versa.

2. The current in the circuit increases on decreasing

the frequency of applied voltage & vice-versa.
Therefore, the brightness of bulb increases.

PRECAUTIONS
1. The coil should have large number of turns.

2. Current should be passed for a small time to

avoid the heating effect.

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 SOURCES OF ERRORS
1. The resistance of circuit may increases lightly
due to heating effect of current.

2. There may be eddy current in soft iron coil.

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 APPLICATIONS OF SELF-
INDUCTANCE
There are many applications of self inductance, one
of the major ones being a tesla coil,
What is a tesla coil
A Tesla coil is a radio frequency oscillator that
drives the air-core double-tuned resonant
transformer to produce high voltages with low
currents.

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To understand better, let’s define what is a radio
frequency oscillator. Primarily, we are aware that the
electronic oscillator is a device that produces
electrical signals of either a sine wave or a square
wave. This electronic oscillator produces signals in
the radio frequency range of 20 kHz to 100 GHz,
known as a radio frequency oscillator.

Tesla Coil Working Principle

This coil has the ability to produce output voltages
up to several million volts based upon the size of the
coil. The Tesla coil works on a principle to achieve
a condition called resonance. Here, the primary coil
emits huge amounts of current into the secondary
coil to drive the secondary circuit with maximum
energy. The fine-tuned circuit helps to shoot the
current from primary to secondary circuit at a tuned
resonant frequency.

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 Tesla Coil Circuit Diagram
This coil has two main parts – a primary coil and a
secondary coil, with each coil having its own
capacitor. A spark gap connects the coils and
capacitors. The functionality of the spark gap is to
generate the spark to excite the system.

Tesla Coil Working

This coil uses a specialized transformer called a resonant transformer, a radio-frequency transformer, or an
oscillation transformer.

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 Tesla Coil Working
This coil uses a specialized transformer called a
resonant transformer, a radio-frequency transformer,
or an oscillation transformer.

The primary coil is connected to the power source

and the secondary coil of a transformer is coupled
loosely to ensure that it resonates. The capacitor
connected in parallel with the transformer circuit
acts as a tuning circuit or an LC circuit to generate
signals at a specific frequency.
The primary of the transformer, otherwise referred to
as a resonant transformer steps up to generate very
high levels of voltage ranging between 2kv to 30 kV,
which in turn charges the capacitor. With the
accumulation of massive amounts of charge in the
capacitor, eventually, breaks down the air of the
spark gap. The capacitor emits a huge amount of
current through the Tesla Coil (L1, L2), which in
turn generates a high voltage at the output.

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 Oscillation Frequency
The combination of a capacitor and primary winding
‘L1’ of the circuit forms a tuned circuit. This tuned
circuit ensures that both primary and secondary
circuits are finely tuned to resonate at the same
frequency. The resonant frequencies of the primary
‘f1’ and secondary circuits ‘f2’ and are given by,
f1=1/2π√L1C1 and f2=1/2π√L2C2

As the secondary circuit cannot be adjusted, the

moveable tap on ‘L1’ is used to tune the primary
circuit till both the circuits resonate at the same
frequency. Therefore, the frequency of the primary
is the same as the secondary.
f = 1/2π√L1C1 =1/2π√L2C2

The condition for primary and secondary to resonate

at the same frequency is,
L1C1= L2C2

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 Oscillation Frequency
The combination of a capacitor and primary winding
‘L1’ of the circuit forms a tuned circuit. This tuned
circuit ensures that both primary and secondary
circuits are finely tuned to resonate at the same
frequency. The resonant frequencies of the primary
‘f1’ and secondary circuits ‘f2’ and are given by,
f1=1/2π√L1C1 and f2=1/2π√L2C2

As the secondary circuit cannot be adjusted, the

moveable tap on ‘L1’ is used to tune the primary
circuit till both the circuits resonate at the same
frequency. Therefore, the frequency of the primary
is the same as the secondary.
f = 1/2π√L1C1 =1/2π√L2C2

The condition for primary and secondary to resonate

at the same frequency is,
L1C1= L2C2

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The output voltage in the resonant transformer does
not depend on the number-of-turns ratio as in
ordinary transformer. As soon as the cycle begins
and as the spar sets up, the primary circuit’s energy
is stored in the primary capacitor ‘C1’ and the
voltage at which the spark breaks down is ‘V1’.

W1=1/2C1V12
Similarly, the energy at the secondary coil is given
by,

W2=1/2C2V22
Assuming there is no loss of energy, W2 = W1.
Simplifying the above equation, we get
V2 = V1√C1/C2 = V1√L2/L1
In the above equation, the peak voltage can be
achieved when air breaks down do not occur. The
peak voltage is the voltage at which the air breaks
down and begins to conduct.

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Advantages/Disadvantages of Tesla Coil
The advantages are

Allows uniform distribution of voltage

throughout the winding coils.
Builds up the voltage at a slow pace and hence
no damage.
Great performance.
The use of 3-phase rectifiers for higher powers
can offer tremendous load sharing.

The disadvantages are

Tesla coil poses several health hazards due to

high voltage radio frequency emission that
includes skin burn, damage to the nervous
system and heart.
Involves high costs in buying large DC
smoothing capacitor.
Construction of circuit consumes much time
as it needs to be perfect to resonate

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 Applications of Tesla Coil
At present, these coils do not require large complex
circuits to produce high voltage. Nevertheless, small
Tesla coils find their applications in a range of
sectors.
Aluminium welding
Cars use these coils for the spark plug ignition
Created Tesla coil fans, used to generate
artificial lighting, sounds like music Tesla
coils in Entertainment and Education
industry are used as attractions at electronics
fairs and science museums
High vacuum systems and arc lighters
Vacuum system leak detectors

1). What do Tesla coils do?

This coil is a radio frequency oscillator that drives a
resonant transformer to generate a high voltage at
low current.

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 Applications of Tesla Coil
At present, these coils do not require large complex
circuits to produce high voltage. Nevertheless, small
Tesla coils find their applications in a range of
sectors.
Aluminium welding
Cars use these coils for the spark plug ignition
Created Tesla coil fans, used to generate
artificial lighting, sounds like music Tesla
coils in Entertainment and Education
industry are used as attractions at electronics
fairs and science museums
High vacuum systems and arc lighters
Vacuum system leak detectors

1). What do Tesla coils do?

This coil is a radio frequency oscillator that drives a
resonant transformer to generate a high voltage at
low current.

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2). Can a Tesla coil charge a phone? Nowadays,
smartphones are released with built-in wireless
charging, which uses the principle of a Tesla coil.
3). Is Tesla coil dangerous?
The coil and its equipment are very dangerous as
they produce very high voltages and currents which
cannot be ensured by the human body
4). Why do tesla coils make music? Generally,
this coil converts air around it into a plasma that
changes volume and causes the waves to spread
across all the directions, creating sound/music. This
happens at a high frequency of 20 to 100 kHz.
5). How did Tesla transmit electricity wirelessly?
A spark gap is used to connect the capacitors and two
coils. As the power is fed in through a transformer,
it produces the necessary current and powers the
entire circuit.

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 CONCLUSION

Thus, this is all about an overview of the Tesla coil

that can be used to generate electricity of high
voltage, low current, and high-frequency. Tesla Coil
has the ability to transmit electricity wirelessly up to
several kilometres. We ensured that this article gives
the reader insights into the working of the Tesla coil,
advantages and disadvantages, and applications.
Truly, his invention of wireless transmission of
electric energy has changed the way the world
communicates.

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