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Electromagnetic induction includes an induced electromotive force associated with a changing magnetic field or motion of a conductor in a magnetic field. Faraday's law of induction and motional electromotive force specify the relevant contributions.

Electromotive force is the driving work per unit electric charge around an electrical circuit, measured in volts, despite its name containing "force". For a stationary loop its electromagnetic contribution is $\mathcal{E}={\oint }_C\mathbf{E}\cdot d\mathbf{l}$; for a moving electrical conductor, include the motional electromotive force. A nonzero closed-loop line integral of the electric field cannot be represented by a single-valued electric potential alone. An electromotive force specifies the drive; the resulting electric current also depends on the electrical resistance and self-inductance. ^[ref].

Faraday's law of induction relates a changing magnetic field to circulation of the electric field. For a fixed oriented surface $S$ with boundary $C=\partial S$, choose the positive direction around $C$ by the right-hand rule: the fingers follow $C$ while the thumb follows the chosen unit normal. The fixed-loop electromagnetic electromotive force isThe final derivative of magnetic flux is an ordinary time derivative, with the surface held fixed. Reversing both the unit normal and the boundary direction reverses both signs. The loop may be an imagined path: the field law does not require a wire or an electric current. ^[ref].

For a computed example, a fixed single-turn loop has area $A=0.020{\mathrm{m}}^2$ and out-of-page unit normal. Prescribe an external uniform magnetic field in that direction with $B(t)=0.10\mathrm{T}+(0.30T/s)t$ for $0\le t\le 1.0\mathrm{s}$. ThenIn a quasistatic resistive model with electrical resistance $R=2.0\Omega$, neglect the loop's self-inductance and its own contribution to changing magnetic flux. Ohm's law givesThe magnetic flux rises from $0.0020\mathrm{Wb}$ to $0.0080\mathrm{Wb}$ while the induced electromotive force stays constant: it measures the rate of change, rather than the amount of magnetic flux. The negative sign means clockwise electric current; its magnetic field through the loop points into the page, as explained by Lenz's law. The toy model describes the interval of steady ramping, excluding switching transients at its ends.

For a moving conducting loop $C(t)$, the electromagnetic electromotive force instead includes the Lorentz force contribution from the local velocity $\mathbf{v}$ of each conductor segment:This form assumes a thin-wire model with a well-defined closed contour and spanning oriented surface that move compatibly, a magnetic field satisfying Gauss's law for magnetism, and conductor speeds small compared with the speed of light. Ideal sliding contacts such as those in motional electromotive force can be treated piecewise. Arbitrary changes of electrical connections require checking the actual contour and conductor velocities; differentiating the flux through an arbitrary chosen moving path is insufficient. The velocity here describes conductor motion, not the charge carriers' drift along the wire. ^[ref].

A short derivation of the fixed-loop integral statement applies Stokes theorem to the local curl equation and differentiates under the fixed surface integral. For the moving loop, the magnetic flux transport for a moving circuit adds the swept-area term $-{\oint }_C(\mathbf{v}\times \mathbf{B})\cdot d\mathbf{l}$ to $d{\Phi }_B/dt$. Combining these two identities gives the moving-loop statement. This derives the integral forms from the local field law; it is not a proof of that empirical law from mathematics alone.

The useful unity is geometric: changing the magnetic field, the enclosed area, or the orientation can change magnetic flux and hence produce an electromotive force. A coil's multiple turns are accounted for by magnetic flux linkage, rather than by multiplying a single-turn flux without checking which flux each turn receives. ^[ref].

Faraday's report read on 24 November 1831 describes opposite momentary responses when a neighboring circuit is connected and disconnected, with no continuing response while its steady electric current is maintained. These are concrete experimental roots of the changing-flux idea. The report predates the modern Maxwell equations notation used above. ^[ref].

For a conducting disc of radius $a$ rotating in a uniform axial magnetic field $B$, the shaft-to-rim motional electromotive force is ${\int }_0^a\omega rBdr=\omega B{a}^2/2$. A current $I$ between shaft and rim gives the opposing torque $IB{a}^2/2$, making electromagnetic conversion power $\mathcal{E}I$ equal to mechanical torque times angular speed.

Lenz's law expresses the minus sign in Faraday's law of induction: the induced electromotive force drives a passive resistive loop's electric current in the direction whose own magnetic field opposes the imposed change in magnetic flux. It opposes the change of flux, not invariably the external magnetic field. Choose an oriented surface and its positive boundary direction first, find the sign of $d{\Phi }_{\mathrm{ext}}/dt$, and then use the right-hand rule to translate the signed electric current into a physical direction. ^[ref].

In the fixed-loop example in Faraday's law of induction, out-of-page magnetic flux increases at $0.0060Wb/s$. With counterclockwise positive, $I=-0.0030\mathrm{A}$ is clockwise, producing an in-page magnetic field through the loop. Reverse the ramp to $B(t)=0.40\mathrm{T}-(0.30T/s)t$ on the same one-second interval: now $\mathcal{E}=+0.0060\mathrm{V}$ and $I=+0.0030\mathrm{A}$. The counterclockwise electric current produces an out-of-page magnetic field, supporting the decreasing external magnetic flux. A steady out-of-page magnetic field with fixed loop geometry gives no induced electromotive force in either direction.

For the increasing-area example in motional electromotive force, clockwise electric current runs down the right-hand rod. Its magnetic force on a current-carrying wire points left, opposing the imposed motion to the right. Writing $I_{\mathrm{mag}}=B\ell v/R$ for the current magnitude, the power required to maintain constant speed isThus the sign agrees with conservation of energy: the external drive supplies the Joule heating. The magnetic forces do no work on individual charges; mechanical work by the drive supplies the electrical energy. This also explains the usefulness of electromagnetic braking of a sliding rod and the terminal speed of a falling conducting loop. ^[ref].

The sign of induced electromotive force alone does not determine an arbitrary circuit's instantaneous electric current. Retaining constant self-inductance $L$ gives $LdI/dt+RI=-d{\Phi }_{\mathrm{ext}}/dt$, so a pre-existing electric current can persist while the induced drive opposes its change. The distinction matters in the lossless limit of magnetic loop braking. The resistive toy examples use $L=0$ as an approximation, not a general consequence of Lenz's law.

Motional electromotive force is the contribution ${\oint }_C(\mathbf{v}\times \mathbf{B})\cdot d\mathbf{l}$ from an electrical conductor moving with local velocity $\mathbf{v}$ through a magnetic field. The cross product comes from the magnetic part of the Lorentz force. For a straight rod of length $\ell$, perpendicular to both its velocity and a uniform magnetic field, its magnitude is $B\ell v$. The sign depends on the direction of integration along the rod. ^[ref].

For a computed example, take $\ell =0.50\mathrm{m}$, velocity $\mathbf{v}=2.0\hat{\mathbf{x}}m/s$ to the right, and magnetic field $\mathbf{B}=0.40\hat{\mathbf{z}}\mathrm{T}$ out of the page. The rod lies along $y$. ThenPositive electric charge is driven downward. For an isolated rod after charge separation has equilibrated, $\mathbf{E}=-\mathbf{v}\times \mathbf{B}$ inside it, and the electric potential difference is $V_{\mathrm{bottom}}-V_{\mathrm{top}}=+0.40\mathrm{V}$; the bottom is positive. This open-circuit statement does not imply a sustained electric current.

Close the rod's path with stationary U-shaped rails and an electrical resistance $R>0$ at the left. With out-of-page unit normal, the positive loop direction is counterclockwise, hence upward along the rod. If the rod's horizontal position is $x(t)$, the enclosed area is $A=\ell x$ and the external magnetic flux is ${\Phi }_{\mathrm{ext}}=B\ell x$. ThusHere the resistive approximation neglects self-inductance. The negative electric current is clockwise, downward along the rod, consistent with the charge-separation calculation and Lenz's law.

The closed-loop result illustrates why the moving-circuit form of Faraday's law of induction includes motional electromotive force: the magnetic field is constant in time, so the electric field circulation alone would miss this drive. Its mechanical consequence is electromagnetic braking of a sliding rod.

Orient the moving boundary $C(t)$ consistently with the normal on a spanning surface $S(t)$. The relevant Maxwell equations are $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{B}=0$ and $\nabla \times \mathbf{E}=-{\partial }_t\mathbf{B}$.

First hold the magnetic field fixed at time $t$ and compare the fluxes through the old and new surfaces. The closed surface consists of the new surface, the reversed old surface, and the joining ribbon. A parametrization of the ribbon by boundary arclength and time gives its outward oriented area vector as $d\mathbf{r}\times \mathbf{v}\delta t$. Thus its flux isBy the divergence theorem, the total flux through the closed surface is zero. Adding the field's explicit change in time consequently gives the moving-surface flux derivativeNow apply Stokes theorem and $\mathbf{B}\cdot (\mathbf{v}\times d\mathbf{r})=-(\mathbf{v}\times \mathbf{B})\cdot d\mathbf{r}$:Consequently the electromotive force, including the motional electromotive force, satisfiesThis derives the moving-circuit form of Faraday's law, including both changing fields and changing circuit geometry.

For a moving circuit, Faraday's law takes the formHere $C(t)$ is the instantaneous wire contour, $\mathbf{v}$ its local material velocity, and $S(t)$ any spanning surface. The contour orientation and surface normal vector obey the right-hand convention. The integral on the right is the magnetic flux, differentiated with both the field and circuit position allowed to vary. The electric field term is the electric force per unit electric charge around the wire, and $\mathbf{v}\times \mathbf{B}$ supplies the motional electromotive force. Their sum is the electromotive force driving charge around the moving circuit. The condition $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{B}=0$ makes the magnetic flux independent of the spanning surface.

Choose the initial loop normal vector to be $+{\mathbf{e}}_y$, so rotation about $+{\mathbf{e}}_z$ gives $\mathbf{n}(t)=(-\sin \Omega t,\cos \Omega t,0)$. The spatially uniform magnetic field givesUsing Ohm's law for the resistive loop,Positive electric current is measured in the contour orientation associated with $\mathbf{n}(t)$. Reversing that convention reverses the signed answer. When $\Omega =\omega$, the magnetic flux is constant and the induced electric current vanishes. This uses the usual thin resistive-circuit approximation with self-inductance neglected.

The bar's motion increases positive $z$-directed magnetic flux at rate $B\ell v$. By Lenz's law, induced current circulates clockwise as viewed from positive $z$, producing a field into the page. Equivalently $\mathbf{v}\times \mathbf{B}=-vB\hat{\mathbf{y}}$ drives positive charge down the moving bar. The motional electromotive force has magnitude $B\ell v$, soThe current flows downward in the bar, left along the lower rail, upward through the resistor, and right along the upper rail. The ideal circuit approximation neglects self-inductance and the bar's resistance.

Use compatible orientations for the loop and spanning surface. The relevant Maxwell equations areThe magnetic flux transport for a moving circuit separates the change of the field from the motion of its boundary. To see the boundary term, freeze $\mathbf{B}$ at time $t$. Orient the closed swept surface as $S(t+\delta t)-S(t)+S^{\prime }$. Its side element isto first order. Hence its flux is $-\delta t{\oint }_C\mathbf{B}\cdot (\mathbf{v}\times d\mathbf{r})$. By the divergence theorem and $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{B}=0$, the sum of the three fluxes is zero, giving the purely geometric changeAdding the temporal field change and applying Stokes theorem yieldsThusThe boundary contribution is the motional electromotive force; the field contribution is Faraday's law.

For a moving closed circuit $C(t)$ bounding an oriented surface $S(t)$, Faraday's law isHere $\mathbf{E}$ is the electric field, $\mathbf{B}$ the magnetic field, $\mathbf{v}$ the local velocity of a circuit element, and ${\mathcal{E}}_{\mathrm{em}}$ the electromagnetic electromotive force per unit charge around the circuit. The line orientation and normal $\mathbf{n}$ obey the right-hand rule. The flux derivative is a total derivative and includes both changing field and changing surface. The term $\mathbf{v}\times \mathbf{B}$ is the motional electromotive force. A battery contributes an additional non-electromagnetic source electromotive force.

Take positive current around $D\to E\to F\to G\to D$, so it runs upward through the bar. With $\mathbf{B}=B_0{\mathbf{e}}_z$, the oriented magnetic flux is $B_{0}Ls(t)$ and the motional electromotive force is $-B_{0}L\dot{s}$. Ohm's law therefore givesIf $I>0$, the bar current is $E\to F$; if $I<0$, it is $F\to E$. The induced part opposes the battery for a bar moving to the right when $B_0>0$.

Faraday's law for a moving circuit is $\mathcal{E}=\oint (\mathbf{E}+\mathbf{v}\times \mathbf{B})\cdot d\mathbf{\ell }=-d{\Phi }_B/dt$. The magnetic flux ${\Phi }_B$ is through a surface bounded by the instantaneous loop, with consistent orientation. For the stationary external field here, the motion supplies the motional electromotive force.

Let $x$ be downward penetration of the bottom segment, $v=\dot{x}$, and $K=B_{0}a$. While $0<x<b$, flux grows at rate $Kv$. Define positive current as the direction whose magnetic force is upward. With negligible self-inductance, $I=Kv/R$ andThe resistive magnetic entry of a falling loop givesThe initial acceleration is $g$ and the speed approaches $g\tau$ if the loop remains partly immersed long enough. Joule heating $I^{2}R$ removes gravitational energy. At the first $x=b$, both horizontal segments are inside the uniform field: the net flux becomes constant, the net magnetic force vanishes, and this zero-inductance model has $I=0$ thereafter. The subsequent speed increases with acceleration $g$.

For negligible electrical resistance, conservation of total linked flux instead gives $LI=Kx$ in the braking-current convention. Thereforeand the lossless limit of magnetic loop braking yieldsHere energy is stored reversibly in $L{I}^2/2$, not dissipated. If $b>2g/{\omega }^2$, the loop reverses before complete entry and executes the ideal oscillatory motion while straddling the boundary. If $b<2g/{\omega }^2$, it reaches complete entry on its first descent; thereafter the current is constant, the forces on its two horizontal segments cancel, and it falls with acceleration $g$. The exact grazing case needs care at the ideal discontinuous field boundary. An entry-only sinusoid must not be extrapolated through full immersion.

For a fixed contour, Faraday's law of induction isThe second equation is the differential Maxwell equation, related to the first by Stokes theorem. For a moving wire, the relevant motional electromotive force is $\mathcal{E}=\oint (\mathbf{E}+{\mathbf{v}}_{\mathrm{wire}}\times \mathbf{B})\cdot d\mathbf{l}=-d{\Phi }_B/dt$. Thus a static magnetic field can induce current in a moving circuit even when $\nabla \times \mathbf{E}=0$.

For translational magnetic damping of a square wire loop, while the upper horizontal leg remains in the field, a downward speed $v$ reduces the flux at rate $Bav$. Hence $|\mathcal{E}|=Bav$, $|I|=Bav/R$, and the upward magnetic braking force is $B^2{a}^{2}v/R$. With negligible electrical self-inductance,Let the wire cross-sectional area be $S$, mass density ${\rho }_m$, and resistivity ${\rho }_e$. Since $m=4aS{\rho }_m$ and $R=4a{\rho }_e/S$,These use the printed copper values and $B=1\mathrm{T}$. The wire dimensions cancel. The terminal-speed approximation is restricted to the interval before the upper leg leaves the field, as assumed in the question.

For rotational magnetic damping of a square wire loop, consider rotation about the central $x$ axis in a uniform field, the flux is $B{a}^2\cos \theta$. The induced current produces torque $-B^2{a}^4\dot{\theta }{\sin }^2\theta /R$. A thin square loop has moment of inertia ${\mathcal{I}}_x=m{a}^2/6$: the two legs parallel to $x$ contribute $m{a}^2/8$, and the other two $m{a}^2/24$. Averaging ${\sin }^2\theta$ over a rotation givesIf “decay time” means rotational kinetic energy rather than angular speed, $K\propto {\omega }^2$ gives ${\tau }_{\mathrm{rot},\mathrm{K}}={\tau }_t/6=0.400512\mathrm{ms}$. This distinction, and the assumed separation between rotation period and slow decay, are essential. The electrical and mechanical time scales in magnetic braking must be separated: electrical self-inductance is neglected in both calculations.

For positive loop resistance, coupled mechanical and circuit equations relax toward constant sliding speed on sufficiently long rails. The steady current balances the downhill gravitational force, and motional electromotive force balances the resistive voltage. The undamped zero-resistance limit has no relaxation, so its late-time limit is singular.

A rectangular loop entering a uniform magnetic field while only one horizontal segment is immersed has motional electromotive force $Bav$. Neglecting self-inductance, its electric current is $Bav/R$ and its upward magnetic force is $(Ba{)}^{2}v/R$. The equation $m\dot{v}=mg-(Ba{)}^{2}v/R$ gives exponential relaxation toward $mgR/(Ba{)}^2$. This entry model ends when both horizontal segments enter the field; then their net magnetic force and the rate of change of external magnetic flux vanish.