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Electrical & Electronics Engineering vocabulary · Voltage, Current and Power

Inductance

Meaning in electrical & electronics engineering, with examples

/ɪnˈdʌktəns/nounCommon term

In electrical & electronics engineering, inductance means: The property of a coil or conductor that opposes changes in the current through it by storing energy in a magnetic field. It is measured in henries (H), often in µH or mH.

In Turkish: endüktans, indüktans

How it is used

Used for inductors, transformers and motors, and also for unwanted effects such as the stray inductance of long wires and PCB loops. Engineers measure inductance with an LCR meter and talk about leakage inductance and parasitic inductance.

Example sentences

  1. The long wires to the motor add inductance and cause voltage spikes when the MOSFET switches off.

  2. Measure the inductance of the coil with the LCR meter at 100 kHz.

Common collocations

  • parasitic inductance
  • leakage inductance
  • stray inductance
  • measure the inductance
  • inductorA component, usually a coil of wire, that stores energy in a magnetic field and resists changes in current. It is used in filters, switching power supplies and chokes.
  • capacitanceThe ability of a component or structure to store electric charge, measured in farads (F). Practical values are usually in microfarads (µF), nanofarads (nF) or picofarads (pF).
  • impedanceThe total opposition a circuit offers to alternating current, combining resistance and reactance. It is measured in ohms and usually changes with frequency.
  • transformerA device that transfers AC power from one winding to another through a shared magnetic core, usually to step the voltage up or down. It does not work with DC.

More terms: Voltage, Current and Power

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