PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY

PROJECT
(2024-2025)

Shiksha Valley School, Khanikar

Dibrugarh- 786003

TOPIC- To study the factor on which the

self inductance of a coil depends

Submitted by Submitted to
Name: Sumwang Sumnyan
Class: XII(TWELVE) Dr. Dhananjay Kr. Mondal
(PGT Physics)

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 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that
Sumwang Sumnyan
of grade XII, Shiksha Valley School, Dibrugarh
has successfully completed the research project
on the topic “TO STUDY THE FACTOR ON
WHICH THE SELF INDUCTANCE OF A
COIL DEPEENDS” under the guidance of
Dr.Dhananjay Kumar Mondal
(PGT Physics)

Signature of the
Candidate

Signature of the
principal

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sl.No Contents Page

no.

1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

2. INTRODUCTION

3. ABOUT THE TOPIC

4. EXPERIMENT

5. OBSERVATION TABLE

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this opportunity to express my

deep sense of gratitude to all those people without
whom this project could have never been completed.

I would like to thank my Principal Mr. Amitava

Bandyopadhyay and school for providing me with the
facilities required to complete this project.

I am highly indebted to my Physics teacher Dr.

Dhananjay Kr. Mondal, for his invaluable guidance
which has sustained my efforts in all the stages of this
project work.

Signature of the candidate

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 INTRODUCTION

What is self-inductance?
•When an electric current is passed through an insulated
conducting coil, it gives rise to a magnetic field in the coil so
that the coil itself behaves like a magnet.

•The magnetic flux produced by the current in the coil is linked

with the coil itself.

•As the strength of the current in the coil is changed, the flux
linked with the coil also changes. Under such circumstances an
emf is induced in the coil too. Such emf is called a self-induced
emf and this phenomenon is known as self-induction.

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AIM:-

To study the factor on which the self inductance of a coil

depends by observing the effect of this coil, when put in
series with a resistor (bulb) in a circuit fed up by an A.C.
source of adjustable frequency.

APPARATUS:-

A coil of large turns, a.c. source of adjustable frequency,

an electrical bulb , (6V) a.c. ammeter of suitable range
rheostat , a soft iron rod, one way key, connecting wires
etc.

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THEORY :-
Self inductance is the property of a coil which opposes
the change in current through it. The self inductance of
a coil (long solenoid) is

L=µ0µrN2A/ l

Where µr, = Relative magnetic permeability of magnetic

material,

µr = µ/ µ0

N = Total number of turns in solenoid

A = Area of cross-section of solenoid
l= length of solenoid.

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Hence, the self inductance depends upon:

1. No. of turns (N), Lα N²

2. Geometry of coil, Lα A, L α(1/l)
3. Nature of core material, Lα µ

When an inductor is connected in series with a resistor

(bulb) with a variable source of frequency, then current
flowing in the bulb is

Irms = Erms/Z

Where, Z = √R2 + ω2 = Impedance of the a.c. circuit.

Here

R = Resistance of the bulb

L = Self inductance of coil
ω = 2πf = Angular frequency of a.c. source

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CIRCUIT DIAGRAM :-

PROCEDURE:-
1. Make all connections as shown in the circuit
diagram.

2. Switch on the a.c. supply & adjust the current in

the circuit by using the variable resistor (Rh).

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3. Record the current in a.c. ammeter & see the
brightness of bulb.

4. Now, put the soft iron rod inside the conductor core
& record the current in a.c. ammeter & again check the
brightness of bulb. The current & brightness both
decreases.

5. Now, switch off the supply & decrease the frequency

of a.c. source (say 50 Hz).

6. Again switch on the supply & adjust the current in

circuit at same constant voltage 6 V by using the
rheostat. Note the current in ammeter & brightness of
bulb. The current & brightness both will increase.

7. Again insert the iron rod in the core of coil & note
the current & brightness. The current & brightness both
decreases.

8. Repeat the steps 5, 6 and 7 for different frequency of

a.c. source.

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OBSERVATIONS:-
1. Least count of ammeter = 0.05 A.

2. Zero error of ammeter = 0 A.

3. Range of ammeter = 0 – 5 A

Sl. Frequency of Current in Current

No. applied voltage Ammeter Ammeter with
(Hz) without iron rod iron rod in coil
in coil (A) (A)

1. 60 2 1.8
2.
50 2.5 2.3

3. 40 2.9 2.6

4. 30 3.4 3.25

5. 20 4.1 4

RESULT :-
1. The current in the circuit decrease on inserting the
iron rod in the core of coil at constant frequency of
applied voltage & brightness of bulb decreases & vice-
versa. 11
2. The current in the circuit increases on decreasing the
frequency of applied voltage & vice-versa. Therefore,
the brightness of bulb increases.

PRECAUTIONS:-
1. The coil should have large number of turns.

2. Current should be passed for a small time to avoid the

heating effect.

SOURCES OF ERRORS :-
2. The resistance of circuit may increases lightly due to
heating effect of current.

2. There may be eddy current in soft iron coil.

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Applications of Self-Inductance
There are many applications of self inductance, one of the
major ones being a tesla coil,

What is a tesla coil?

A Tesla coil is a radio frequency oscillator that drives the air-
core double-tuned resonant transformer to produce high
voltages with low currents.

To understand better, let’s define what is a radio frequency

oscillator. Primarily, we are aware that the electronic
oscillator is a device that produces electrical signals of
either a sinewave or a square wave. This electronic
oscillator produces signals in the radio frequency range of
20 kHz to 100 GHz, known as a radio frequency oscillator.

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Tesla Coil Working Principle
This coil has the ability to produce output voltages up
to several million volts based upon the size of the coil.
The Tesla coil works on a principle to achieve a
condition called resonance. Here, the primary coil emits
huge amounts of current into the secondary coil to drive
the secondary circuit with maximum energy. The fine-
tuned circuit helps to shoot the current from primary to
secondary circuit at a tuned resonant frequency.

Tesla Coil Circuit Diagram

This coil has two main parts – a primary coil and a
secondary coil, with each coil having its own capacitor.
A spark gap connects the coils and capacitors. The
functionality of the spark gap is to generate the spark to
excite the system.

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Tesla Coil Working
This coil uses a specialized transformer called a
resonant transformer, a radio-frequency transformer, or
an oscillation transformer. The primary coil is
connected to the power source and the secondary coil
of a transformer is coupled loosely to ensure that it
resonates. The capacitor connected in parallel with the
transformer circuit acts as a tuning circuit or an LC
circuit to generate signals at a specific frequency. The
primary of the transformer, otherwise referred to as a
resonant transformer steps upto generate very high
levels of voltage ranging between 2kv to 30 kV, which
in turn charges the capacitor. With the accumulation of
massive amounts of charge in the capacitor, eventually,
breaks down the air of the spark gap. The capacitor
emits a huge amount of current through the Tesla Coil
(L1, L2), which in turn generates a high voltage at the
output.

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Oscillation Frequency
The combination of a capacitor and primary winding
‘L1’ of the circuit forms a tuned circuit. This tuned
circuit ensures that both primary and secondary circuits
are finely tuned to resonate at the same frequency. The
resonant frequencies of the primary ‘f1’ and secondary
circuits ‘f2’ and are given by,

f1=1/2π√L1C1 and f2=1/2π√L2C2

As the secondary circuit cannot be adjusted, the

moveable tap on ‘L1’ is used to tune the primary circuit
till both the circuits resonate at the same frequency.
Therefore, the frequency of the primary is the same as
the secondary.

f = 1/2π√L1C1 =1/2π√L2C2

The condition for primary and secondary to resonate at

the same frequency is,

L1C1= L2C2

The output voltage in the resonant transformer does not

depend on the number-of-turns ratio as in ordinary
transformer. As soon as the cycle begins and as the spars
set up, the
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primary circuit’s energy is stored in the primary
capacitor ‘C1’ and the voltage at which the spark breaks
down is ‘V1’.

W1=1/2C1V12

Similarly, the energy at the secondary coil is given by,

W2=1/2C2V22

Assuming there is no loss of energy, W2 =W1.

Simplifying the above equation, we get

V2 = V1√C1/C2 = V1√L2/L1

In the above equation, the peak voltage can be achieved

when air breaks down do not occur. The peak voltage is
the voltage at which the air breaks down and begins to
conduct.

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Advantages/Disadvantages of
Tesla Coil
The advantages are

• Allows uniform distribution of voltage throughout

the winding coils.

• Builds up the voltage at a slow pace and hence no

damage.

• Great performance.

• The use of 3-phase rectifiers for higher powers can

offer tremendous load sharing.

The disadvantages are

• Tesla coil poses several health hazards due to high

voltage radio frequency emission that includes skin
burn, damage to the nervous system and heart.

• Involves high costs in buying large DC smoothing

capacitor.

• Construction of circuit consumes much time as it

needs to be perfect to resonate

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Applications of Tesla Coil

At present, these coils do not require large complex

circuits to produce high voltage. Nevertheless, small
Tesla coils find their applications in a range of sectors.

• Aluminium welding
• Cars use these coils for the spark plug ignition
• Created Tesla coil fans, used to generate artificial
lighting, sounds like music Tesla coils in
Entertainment and Education industry are used as
attraction sat electronics fairs and science museums
• High vacuum systems and arc lighters
• Vacuum system leak detectors

1). What do Tesla coils do?

This coil is a radio frequency oscillator that drives a
resonant transformer to generate ahigh voltage at low
current.

2). Can a Tesla coil charge a phone?

Nowadays, smartphones are released with built-in
wireless charging, which uses the principle of a Tesla
coil.

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3). Is Tesla coil dangerous?
The coil and its equipment are very dangerous as they
produce very high voltages and currents which cannot
be ensured by the human body

4). Why do tesla coils make music?

Generally, this coil converts air around it into a plasma
that changes volume and causes the waves to spread
across all the directions, creating sound/music. This
happens at a high frequency of 20 to 100 kHz.

5). How did Tesla transmit electricity

wirelessly?
A spark gap is used to connect the capacitors and two
coils. As the power is fed in through a transformer, it
produces the necessary current and powers the entire
circuit.

Thus, this is all about an overview of the Tesla coil that

can be used to generate electricity of high voltage, low
current, and high-frequency. Tesla Coil has the ability to
transmit electricity wirelessly up to several kilometres.
We ensured that this article gives the reader insights into
the working of the Tesla coil, advantages and
disadvantages, and applications. Truly, his invention of
wireless

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transmission of electric energy has changed the way the
world communicates.

Bibliography

Sites used:

https://www.elprocus.com/what-is-tesla-coil-ci
rcuit-diagram-working-its-applications/

https://www.slideshare.net/karan_19951/self-in
ductance-40498923

Ncert class 12 Textbook

Physics Lab Manual

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