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Concept
Skin effect
Summary
In electromagnetism, skin effect is the tendency of an alternating electric current (AC) to become distributed within a conductor such that the current density is largest near the surface of the conductor and decreases exponentially with greater depths in the conductor. The electric current flows mainly at the "skin" of the conductor, between the outer surface and a level called the skin depth. Skin depth depends on the frequency of the alternating current; as frequency increases, current flow becomes more concentrated near the surface, resulting in less skin depth. Skin effect reduces the effective cross-section of the conductor and thus increases its effective resistance. It is caused by opposing eddy currents induced by the changing magnetic field resulting from the alternating current. At 60 Hz in copper, skin depth is about 8.5 mm. At high frequencies skin depth becomes much smaller.
Increased AC resistance caused by skin effect can be mitigated by using a specialized multistrand wire called litz wire. Because the interior of a large conductor carries little of the current, tubular conductors can be used to save weight and cost. Skin effect has practical consequences in the analysis and design of radio-frequency and microwave circuits, transmission lines (or waveguides), and antennas. It is also important at mains frequencies (50–60 Hz) in AC electric power transmission and distribution systems. It is one of the reasons for preferring high-voltage direct current for long distance power transmission.
The effect was first described in a paper by Horace Lamb in 1883 for the case of spherical conductors, and was generalized to conductors of any shape by Oliver Heaviside in 1885.
Conductors, typically in the form of wires, may be used to transmit electrical energy or signals using an alternating current flowing through that conductor. The charge carriers constituting that current, usually electrons, are driven by an electric field due to the source of electrical energy. A current in a conductor produces a magnetic field in and around the conductor.
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