Alternating current would have been impractical and
dangerous were it not for those boxes on the side of the streets which step
down enormous voltage (about 11,000 volts) to a usable level (about 220 volts)
to light up our houses, without burning them down. Transformers were invented
by the famous physicist Michael Faraday and work on the law of induction
established by Faraday himself.
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| Electrical Transformer |
Faraday’s law of induction states that a potential
difference is caused in a conductor when it is exposed to a varying magnetic
field. Based on this principal, the transformer houses at least two coils – the
first causes the varying magnetic flux and the other uses the same flux to
convert it back into electricity. The differences in voltage are attributed to
factors such as material used in wires, number of rounds, and thickness of
wires and so on.
Transformers can cause electrical isolation of two
circuits preventing direct current from passing form one circuit to another,
lower or raise voltage (you probably have an automatic voltage stabilizer for
your refrigerator which uses a transformer to function) and help lower power
wastage during transmission. It is the last property of transformers that makes
them suitable for distributing electrical power.
