Skin effect is observed mainly in __________.

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

MPPGCL JE Electrical 28 April 2023 Shift 2 Official Paper

Answer 1

Skin effect

The skin effect is a phenomenon that occurs in alternating current (AC) systems, where the current tends to flow primarily on the outer surface or "skin" of a conductor, rather than being uniformly distributed throughout its cross-section. This effect increases with the frequency of the AC signal.
When an AC flows through a conductor, it generates a time-varying magnetic field around the conductor. This varying magnetic field induces eddy currents within the conductor itself, which oppose the original current due to Lenz's Law. As a result, the current is "pushed" towards the outer surface of the conductor.
The effect increases with higher frequency.
Induction heating works by inducing eddy currents in a conductive material using high-frequency alternating magnetic fields.
Due to the skin effect, these eddy currents flow near the surface of the material, generating heat primarily in the outer layers.
This makes induction heating highly effective for surface heating, hardening, and metal processing.