A magnetic circuit is made up of one or more closed loop paths containing a magnetic flux. The flux is usually generated by permanent magnets or electromagnets and confined to the path by magnetic cores consisting of ferromagnetic materials like iron, although there may be air gaps or other materials in the path. Magnetic circuits are employed to efficiently channel magnetic fields in many devices such as electric motors, generators, transformers, relays, lifting electromagnets, SQUIDs, galvanometers, and magnetic recording heads. The relation between magnetic flux, magnetomotive force, and magnetic reluctance in an unsaturated magnetic circuit can be described by Hopkinson's law, which bears a superficial resemblance to Ohm's law in electrical circuits, resulting in a one-to-one correspondence between properties of a magnetic circuit and an analogous electric circuit. Using this concept the magnetic fields of complex devices such as transformers can be quickly solved using the methods and techniques developed for electrical circuits. Some examples of magnetic circuits are: horseshoe magnet with iron keeper (low-reluctance circuit) horseshoe magnet with no keeper (high-reluctance circuit) electric motor (variable-reluctance circuit) some types of pickup cartridge (variable-reluctance circuits) magnetomotive force Similar to the way that electromotive force (EMF) drives a current of electrical charge in electrical circuits, magnetomotive force (MMF) 'drives' magnetic flux through magnetic circuits. The term 'magnetomotive force', though, is a misnomer since it is not a force nor is anything moving. It is perhaps better to call it simply MMF. In analogy to the definition of EMF, the magnetomotive force around a closed loop is defined as: The MMF represents the potential that a hypothetical magnetic charge would gain by completing the loop. The magnetic flux that is driven is not a current of magnetic charge; it merely has the same relationship to MMF that electric current has to EMF.

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Magnetic reluctance
Magnetic reluctance, or magnetic resistance, is a concept used in the analysis of magnetic circuits. It is defined as the ratio of magnetomotive force (mmf) to magnetic flux. It represents the opposition to magnetic flux, and depends on the geometry and composition of an object. Magnetic reluctance in a magnetic circuit is analogous to electrical resistance in an electrical circuit in that resistance is a measure of the opposition to the electric current. The definition of magnetic reluctance is analogous to Ohm's law in this respect.
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In physics, the magnetomotive force (abbreviated mmf or MMF, symbol ) is a quantity appearing in the equation for the magnetic flux in a magnetic circuit, Hopkinson's law. It is the property of certain substances or phenomena that give rise to magnetic fields: where Φ is the magnetic flux and is the reluctance of the circuit. It can be seen that the magnetomotive force plays a role in this equation analogous to the voltage V in Ohm's law, V = IR, since it is the cause of magnetic flux in a magnetic circuit: where N is the number of turns in the coil and I is the electric current through the circuit.
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