Induction heating

From Citizendium
Revision as of 00:45, 12 February 2010 by imported>Meg Taylor (spelling: resistence -> resistance)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is a stub and thus not approved.
Main Article
Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
 
This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.

Induction heating is a process by which materials that are susceptible to electrical fields are heated by an alternating or varying magnetic field from the use of alternating current (AC). This changing magnetic field repeatedly induces eddy currents within the given material. These eddy currents (also known as Foucault currents) cause a circulating flow of electrons that create an electromagnetic field. This electromagnetic field opposes the applied magnetic field. The opposition of the two fields combined with the relative resistance of the material can produce a loss of energy in the form of heat.