Faraday’s law and voltage generation

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the generation of electromotive force (emf) by conductive liquids, specifically in the context of Faraday's law and its application to moving conductive fluids through magnetic fields. Participants explore the potential usefulness of this phenomenon, particularly in practical implementations such as flow measurement and propulsion systems.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant posits that a highly conductive liquid, such as seawater, moving through a magnetic field could generate an emf, questioning its potential usefulness.
  • Another participant notes the challenge of determining what "useful" means, mentioning that practical implementations of this concept have not yet been realized.
  • A different perspective is introduced regarding magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) drives, which utilize magnetic fields to propel vessels without moving parts, suggesting a related application of the principles discussed.
  • A participant references a specific application, mentioning a speedometer for vessels that operates on the principle of electromagnetic flow measurement.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying degrees of interest in the practical applications of the discussed principles, but there is no consensus on the feasibility or usefulness of generating emf from moving conductive liquids.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the ambiguity surrounding the term "useful" and the lack of practical implementations, which may depend on specific conditions or definitions not fully explored in the thread.

JimH59
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If a conductor moving through a magnetic field generates an emf, which it does, COULD a highly conductive liquid (eg: sea water) moving through said field (like a magnetic flowmeter measuring flow rate is used) generate and would it be enough to be useful?
 
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There is a different, but closely related situation (magnetohydrodynamic drive or MHD accelerator), where magnetic fields are used to propel ships with no moving parts:
Screen Shot 2022-04-20 at 9.12.24 AM.png


Screen Shot 2022-04-20 at 9.17.01 AM.png

Some one who knows more about this stuff could give a better explanation of this than I could.

The Russian sub in "The Hunt for Red October" was supposed to be powered by something like a magneto-drive.
Screen Shot 2022-04-20 at 9.21.49 AM.png
 
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