Take Class 12 Tuition from the Best Tutors
Search in
Lenz's Law states that, when you induce a current in a wire via a changing magnetic field, the current flows through the wire in such a direction so that its magnetic field opposes the change that produced the current.
So, what happens when you induce a current by, say, moving a wire through a magnetic field, is that you're converting mechanical energy (the energy of the wire's motion) into electrical energy (the energy carried by the induced current).
Lenz's Law ensures that the mechanical energy of the wire is reduced by the same amount of energy gained by the current. It does this by exerting a force on the wire opposing the wire's motion. This causes the wire to lose mechanical energy (its motion is impeded); it must do work against the induced magnetic field to generate current.
To make this a little more concrete, let's imagine a fictitious universe where Lenz's Law doesn't apply; i.e. a universe in which
there's no force generated on the wire at all, despite the induced current.
In this fictitious universe, imagine that you give the wire one unit of mechanical energy. As the wire passes through a magnetic field, a current appears in the wire that also carries one unit of energy. But since no opposing force is generated, no mechanical energy is lost; the wire still has its original one unit of mechanical energy. Which means that the wire now has two units of total energy (one electrical; one mechanical). You've created energy from nothing!
In the real universe, Lenz's Law ensures that, if the electrical energy gained is one unit then the mechanical energy lost is also one unit, so that the net energy gain of the wire is zero. Energy is conserved.
read lessRelated Questions
How to improve communication skills?
why the frequency of light does not change when it entered into the denser medium ?
Can you add three unit vectors to get a unit vector? Does the answer change if two unit vectors are along coordinate axis? Please give example.
Now ask question in any of the 1000+ Categories, and get Answers from Tutors and Trainers on UrbanPro.com
Ask a QuestionRecommended Articles
Meet Sandhya R, a B.Sc tutor from Bangalore
Sandhya is a proactive educationalist. She conducts classes for CBSE, PUC, ICSE, I.B. and IGCSE. Having a 6-year experience in teaching, she connects with her students and provides tutoring as per their understanding. She mentors her students personally and strives them to achieve their goals with ease. Being an enthusiastic...
Meet Swati, a Hindi Tutor from Bangalore
Swati is a renowned Hindi tutor with 7 years of experience in teaching. She conducts classes for various students ranging from class 6- class 12 and also BA students. Having pursued her education at Madras University where she did her Masters in Hindi, Swati knows her way around students. She believes that each student...
Meet Urmila, an MBBS tutor from Bangalore
Urmila is a passionate teacher with over 8 years of experience in teaching. She is currently pursuing her Ph. D. She provides classes for Class 11, Class 12, MBBS and Medical tuition. Urmila began her career in teaching long before she became a teacher. She used to provide classes for foreign national students in her college...
Meet Mohammad Wazid, a skilled trainer for...
Mohammad Wazid is a certified professional tutor for class 11 students. He has 6 years of teaching experience which he couples with an energetic attitude and a vision of making any subject easy for the students. Over the years he has developed skills with a capability of understanding the requirements of the students. This...
Looking for Class 12 Tuition ?
Learn from the Best Tutors on UrbanPro
Are you a Tutor or Training Institute?
Join UrbanPro Today to find students near youThe best tutors for Class 12 Tuition Classes are on UrbanPro
The best Tutors for Class 12 Tuition Classes are on UrbanPro