Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Physics
Journal Title
American Journal of Physics
Pub Date
8-2020
Volume
88
Issue
8
First Page
676
Abstract
We present a simple demonstration of the skin effect by observing the current distribution in a wide rectangular strip conductor driven at frequencies in the 0.25–5 kHz range. We measure the amplitude and phase of the current distribution as a function of the transverse position and find that they agree well with numerical simulations: The current hugs the edges of the strip conductor with a significant variation in phase across the width. The experimental setup is simple, uses standard undergraduate physics instructional laboratory equipment, and is easy to implement as a short in-class demonstration. Our study is motivated by modeling ac magnetic near fields in the vicinity of a rectangular trace on an atom chip.
Recommended Citation
Blackwell, Anne E.; Rotunno, Andrew P.; and Aubin, Seth, Demonstration of the Lateral AC Skin Effect Using a Pickup Coil (2020). American Journal of Physics, 88(8), 676-684.
https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0001272
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0001272
Publisher Statement
This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in (American Journal of Physics 88 (8), August 2020; 676-684) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0001272.
