Working of an Inductor

According to the theory of Electromagnetic Induction, any varying electric current, flowing in a conductor, produces a magnetic field around that, which is perpendicular to the current. Also, any varying magnetic field, produces current in the conductor present in that field, whereas the current is perpendicular to the magnetic field.

Now, if we consider an inductor which is made up of a conducting coil and when some current passes through the inductor, a magnetic field is created perpendicular to it. The following figure indicates an inductor with magnetic field around it.

Now, here we have a varying magnetic field, which creates some current through the conductor. But this current is produced such that it opposes the main current, which has produced the magnetic field.

If this current is named as Im which means the current produced due to the magnetic field and the magnetic field is indicated by β, the following figure indicates it.

This opposing current gains strength with the varying magnetic field, which gains energy by the input supply frequency. Hence as the input current becomes more and more AC with high frequency, the resulting opposing current also gains its strength in opposite direction to the very cause producing it. Now, this opposing current, tries to stop the high frequency AC to pass through the inductor, which means “blocking of AC”.