Lenz's law /ˈlɛntsɨz lɔː/ is a common way of understanding how electromagnetic circuits obey Newton's third law and the conservation of energy. Lenz's law is named after Heinrich Lenz, and it says:
An induced electromotive force (emf) always gives rise to a current whose magnetic field opposes the original change in magnetic flux.
Lenz's law is shown with the minus sign in Faraday's law of induction, which indicates that the induced emf and the change in flux have opposite signs.
For a rigorous mathematical treatment, see electromagnetic induction and Maxwell's equations.
Read more about Lenz's Law: Opposing Currents, Detailed Interaction of Charges in These Currents
Famous quotes containing the word law:
“The law of nature is alternation for evermore. Each electrical state superinduces the opposite. The soul environs itself with friends, that it may enter into a grander self-acquaintance or solitude; and it goes alone for a season, that it may exalt its conversation or society.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)