In reality there will always be some loss due to leakage and position, so the magnetic coupling between the two coils can never reach or exceed 100%, but can become very close to this value in some special inductive coils. However, the above equation assumes zero flux leakage and 100% magnetic coupling between the two coils, L 1 and L 2. So the effect of mutual inductance is very much dependant upon the relative positions or spacing, ( S ) of the two coils and this is demonstrated below. Likewise, if the two coils are farther apart from each other or at different angles, the amount of induced magnetic flux from the first coil into the second will be weaker producing a much smaller induced emf and therefore a much smaller mutual inductance value. If one coil is positioned next to the other coil so that their physical distance apart is small, then nearly all of the magnetic flux generated by the first coil will interact with the coil turns of the second coil inducing a relatively large emf and therefore producing a large mutual inductance value. The amount of mutual inductance that links one coil to another depends very much on the relative positioning of the two coils. Then we can define mutual induction as the current flowing in one coil that induces a voltage in an adjacent coil.īut mutual inductance can also be a bad thing as “stray” or “leakage” inductance from a coil can interfere with the operation of another adjacent component by means of electromagnetic induction, so some form of electrical screening to a ground potential may be required.

Mutual Inductance is the basic operating principal of the transformer, motors, generators and any other electrical component that interacts with another magnetic field. Then when two or more coils are magnetically linked together by a common magnetic flux they are said to have the property of Mutual Inductance. However, when the emf is induced into an adjacent coil situated within the same magnetic field, the emf is said to be induced magnetically, inductively or by Mutual induction, symbol ( M ).

When this emf is induced in the same circuit in which the current is changing this effect is called Self-induction, ( L ). In the previous tutorial we saw that an inductor generates an induced emf within itself as a result of the changing magnetic field around its own turns.

Inductance definition