Current in secondary coil as current in primary increases

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the behavior of current in the secondary coil of a transformer as the current in the primary coil is increased by adjusting a variable resistor in a circuit connected to a battery. Participants explore the implications of Faraday's law and Lenz's law in this context, examining the relationship between primary and secondary currents and the effects of circuit configurations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether the current in the secondary coil will increase as the primary current is increased, citing Lenz's law and Faraday's law.
  • Another participant argues that the primary current cannot be increased at a constant rate if the secondary circuit is closed, as the two circuits are magnetically coupled and affect each other.
  • A different viewpoint suggests that if the primary current is increased at a constant rate, the induced emf in the secondary will be constant, leading to a constant secondary current into a resistive load.
  • There is a mention of the limitations of using a battery with a transformer, noting that only a single pulse of induced emf will occur in the secondary before the primary current becomes DC.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the relationship between primary and secondary currents, with no consensus reached on the implications of increasing primary current in this scenario. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the dynamics of the transformer under these conditions.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the complexity of the interaction between the primary and secondary circuits, including the effects of magnetizing inductance and the need for differential equations to fully understand the behavior of the system.

TT0
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Hi, so the scenario is that the primary coil of a transformer is attached to a battery in a circuit with a variable resistor. The resistor is set to the maximum resistance.

As I increase the current in primary coil by reducing resistance at a constant rate, will the current in the secondary also slowly increase? Since as current increase, flux increases, and the secondary coil will oppose this increase in flux by inducing flux in opposite direction by increasing current in the secondary coil (Lenz's law). However, faraday's law is that emf is equal to the change in flux, so that means the secondary coil should have a constant current. What is the problem with my understanding of transformers?

Thanks
 
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TT0 said:
As I increase the current in primary coil by reducing resistance at a constant rate,
You can't do that with the secondary circuit closed. Current in the primary will no longer depend only on the change in resistance. It will also depend on the secondary resistance. The two circuits are now magnetically coupled and you'll have to consider how they affect each other (at the same time).

Even if the secondary were open, you can't increase the primary current at a constant rate by reducing the resistance at a constant rate because of its magnetizing inductance (very large).

Best way to understand what happens in a circuit like this is to write the differential equation of KVL for primary and secondary and solve it.
 
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If you attach a transformer to a battery there will be a single pulse of induced emf in the secondary and then DC current through the primary.
TT0 said:
Hi, so the scenario is that the primary coil of a transformer is attached to a battery in a circuit with a variable resistor. The resistor is set to the maximum resistance.

As I increase the current in primary coil by reducing resistance at a constant rate, will the current in the secondary also slowly increase? Since as current increase, flux increases, and the secondary coil will oppose this increase in flux by inducing flux in opposite direction by increasing current in the secondary coil (Lenz's law). However, faraday's law is that emf is equal to the change in flux, so that means the secondary coil should have a constant current. What is the problem with my understanding of transformers?

Thanks
If you increase the primary current at a constant rate, the secondary emf will be constant. So the secondary current (into a resistive load) will be constant, too.
This process has to end somewhere - when the input power supply runs out of Volts, of course.
 
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Thanks
 

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