Inductance
property of electrical conductors to oppose changes in current flow
Inductance is the tendency of an electrical conductor to oppose a change in the electric current flowing through it. The electric current produces a magnetic field around the conductor. The magnetic field strength depends on the magnitude of the electric current, and therefore follows any changes in the magnitude of the current. From Faraday's law of induction, any change in magnetic field through a circuit induces an electromotive force (EMF) (voltage) in the conductors, a process known as electromagnetic induction. This induced voltage created by the changing current has the effect of opposing the change in current. This is stated by Lenz's law, and the voltage is called back EMF.
Inductance is defined as the ratio of the induced voltage to the rate of change of current causing it. It is a proportionality constant that depends on the geometry of circuit conductors (e.g., cross-section area and length) and the magnetic permeability of the conductor and nearby materials. An electronic component designed to add inductance to a circuit is called an inductor. It typically consists of a coil or helix of wire.
The term inductance was coined by Oliver Heaviside in May 1884, as a convenient way to refer to "coefficient of self-induction".
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q177897. The Library of Congress control number is sh85065802. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1884.
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This entry incorporates text from “Inductance” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.