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THE CHOKING MATTER
An overview of the beauty of inductors
Hello steemit nation and all. I really missed you guys and welcome to today's blog post. I want to do an overview on inductors. To be honest being an electronics hobbist and all, i can't count how many circuits or name any electronic gadgets that uses AC. voltage that don't make use of either resistors capacitors and of course the one and only inductors. These 3 basic components are called passive components. That is they are incapable of controlling current by means of another electronic signal. Thus being passive and used for specific "unsmart" purposed seeing that they don't modulate or control electronic signal. So to all you out there that ain't socially hipe just know there is a place for the socially passive. Moral: its not a bad thing.
So with that said lets get started.
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WHAT IS AN INDUCTOR
It's basically a piece of wire that is wound round either a ferrite core or an air core (using a ceramic core is also an air core). They are also called chokes. The core is basically to increase the inductance of the inductor by inducing a magnetic field to the core thus causing and increasing the overall magnetic field and thus increasing its inductance.
The thing is as we all kokw, when current passes through a straight line wire there is a magnetic field (weak) that occurs around it. This magnetic field basically builds up as the wire is being wound into a coil. Now the relationship between the current flowing through an inductor and the magnetic field is given in the Fleming’s Right Hand Rule. At this point i would like us to really understand something. The main principal working of an inductor is caused by inductance. So lets have a view of that shall we.
Note that during the following overview we would talk mainly with reference to inductors as an electronic component
WHAT IS INDUCTANCE
Inductance is seen basically as the opposition of the flow of voltage or current in a wire and as also like in the case of an inductor any change in current or charge. This is made possible by the inductor 'or wire storing up energy and releasing it in from a magnetic field.
But as usual as a result of inductance or more specifically self inductance the current that flows through an inductor tends to get repealed by an opposing built up current that tends to prevent the current of the inductor to rise instantaneously. This effect is usually noticeable in many gadgets where sometimes if there is a switch used for any gadget or component that makes use of a coil like the air conditioners or the electric fan, when it's switched off there is a spark and seen at the switch . This is as a result of the back current from the inductor. I would also like readers out there to know that the spark that is seen is one that is only possible at about 240-300volts and above WOW so its kinda dangerous and when designing circuits that involve inductors example a boost converter you would need to connect a fly back diode to provide a safe path for the excess voltages to flow when such sudden switching. You can also check out this phenomenon when designing a circuit such as a boost converter using the oscilloscope when checking the wave form at the output section.
Also note that due to this property of its opposition the inductor is used in most circuits in filter circuits to filter high frequencies and allow for passage of low frequencies. As a result it is used in most circuits with capacitors in filter circuits and frequency generation circuits to generate almost any type of frequency. Also it is well to note that the unit of inductance is the Henry
HOW TO MAKE INDUCTORS
Simple properties
Some properties to consider when doing your own personal inductor include ohh and yes there is some math involved.
- The number of turns
- The diameter of a the coil to be used
- The nature of the material to be used as the core. we should note that an inductor that has a metal such as iron has a large inductance thus it is advised that for small electrical projects a core of air that is with no core or one with either a ceramic or plastic.
Procedures
Enough of the silly chit chat lets get down to building and constructing this thing.
STEP 1
Choosing the inductor material
The material that is best suited for this purpose is copper also carbides are used but for RF applications and also the core that i would suggest are ferrites. They basically ceramics with very low permeability and high electrical resistance. You can find them in old scrap electronics that are used for RF applications
STEP 2
Winding the inductor
Now guys for accurate winding i would suggest a point nose pliers. Just insert tour wire on the blunt part and wind gently and evenly. This would help for uniformity of the inductor. But before we even start winding how are we going to know the amount of turns that is required for a certain value of inductor?.
Well lemme help with that. I found this formula one time and i have been basically using it for all the projects i have ever done
It is given as
L = [d²n²] / [18d + 40l]*
From above
L = the inductance of the coil to be designed.
d = the diameter of the coil. This is either measured with your caliper or measuring the diameter of the point mouth pliers used for the winding.
n = the number of turns that is to be used
l = the length of the wire to be used
STEP 3
Finishing touches
After the above simple processes, it is sometimes required to add 'legs' to your inductor that is if the inductor ends are not long enough. For this i recommend that you solder some more copper wires to the end of the inductor terminals or ends.
So guys that about it for inductors. I would like to very much know what your thoughts are and also if you ask questions do note that i am always here to answer. Don't forget to resteem.
Till the next post stay creative and innovative and i will see you next time