Henry (unit) 2026-10-14
The henry is the SI unit of inductance:
A coil with self-inductance has magnetic flux linkage at electric current . A rate of change of electric current produces induced electromotive force of magnitude . The weber measures magnetic flux and magnetic flux linkage; the henry measures their ratio to electric current. [ref].
Magnetic flux Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Magnetic flux measures the signed amount of magnetic field crossing an oriented surface . Choose a unit normal and use the oriented surface element . The defining surface integral is
For a uniform magnetic field across a flat surface of area , the dot product reduces this to
where is the angle between the magnetic field and the chosen unit normal, rather than the plane of the surface. The SI unit is the weber, . [ref].
For a stipulated magnetic field and area , the magnetic flux is at , at , and zero at . In the last case the magnetic field lies in the plane of the surface, so it does not cross it. Reversing the chosen unit normal reverses the sign of magnetic flux without changing the physical magnetic field; at the same example gives .
Figure 1.
Magnetic flux as a flat surface rotates in a fixed magnetic field
. Left: an edge-on surface and its unit normal at three angles to the fixed magnetic field. Right: the signed magnetic flux , including reversal of the unit normal. The stipulated magnetic field is and the area is . Details.
The geometric idea is projected area: tilting a flat surface reduces the area seen perpendicular to the magnetic field by the factor . This explains how rotation alone can change magnetic flux even when the magnetic field is constant; Faraday's law of induction turns such changes into an electromotive force. [ref].
Weber (unit) 2026-10-14
The weber is the SI unit of magnetic flux, with . A uniform magnetic field of crossing a flat surface of area along its chosen unit normal gives . [ref].