Concept
Electromagnetically induced acoustic noise (and vibration), electromagnetically excited acoustic noise, or more commonly known as coil whine, is audible sound directly produced by materials vibrating under the excitation of electromagnetic forces. Some examples of this noise include the mains hum, hum of transformers, the whine of some rotating electric machines, or the buzz of fluorescent lamps. The hissing of high voltage transmission lines is due to corona discharge, not magnetism. The phenomenon is also called audible magnetic noise, electromagnetic acoustic noise, lamination vibration or electromagnetically-induced acoustic noise, or more rarely, electrical noise, or "coil noise", depending on the application. The term electromagnetic noise is generally avoided as the term is used in the field of electromagnetic compatibility, dealing with radio frequencies. The term electrical noise describes electrical perturbations occurring in electronic circuits, not sound. For the latter use, the terms electromagnetic vibrations or magnetic vibrations, focusing on the structural phenomenon are less ambiguous. Acoustic noise and vibrations due to electromagnetic forces can be seen as the reciprocal of microphonics, which describes how a mechanical vibration or acoustic noise can induce an undesired electrical perturbation. Electromagnetic forces can be defined as forces arising from the presence of an electromagnetic field (electrical field only, magnetic field only, or both). Electromagnetic forces in the presence of a magnetic field include equivalent forces due to Maxwell stress tensor, magnetostriction and Lorentz force (also called Laplace force). Maxwell forces, also called reluctances forces, are concentrated at the interface of high magnetic reluctivity changes, e.g. between air and a ferromagnetic material in electric machines; they are also responsible of the attraction or repulsion of two magnets facing each other. Magnetostriction forces are concentrated inside the ferromagnetic material itself.