A model transformer

Class practical

Shows the basic principle of any transformer: a change in current in the primary coil will induce an e.m.f.
(voltage) in the secondary coil.

Apparatus and materials

For each student group

C-cores, laminated iron, 2

Copper wire, insulated with bare ends, 200 cm, 2 lengths

Clip for C-cores

Cell, 1.5 V in holder

Switch

Leads, 4 mm, 4

Lamp in lampholder, either 1.25 V or 2.5 V, 2

Health & Safety and Technical notes

If a zinc chloride cell is used, it will polarize in 60 s or less and must be left overnight to recover.

If an alkaline manganese cell is used, there is a danger of the cell overheating with a risk of explosion -
complete the circuit for 30 s or less.

If a rechargeable cell (NiCd) is used, the wire will get very hot and the cell will be discharged in a few
minutes - do the experiment as quickly as possible.

C-cores should be stored in their original pairs and clipped together to ensure a good fit and to prevent
grit and dirt damaging them.

The slightest gap will dramatically reduce the efficiency of the transformer.
Apparatus set-up

Photograph courtesy of Mike Vetterlein

Procedure

with lamp

Photograph courtesy of Mike Vetterlein

a Wind 10 turns of insulated wire around one arm of a C-core. This forms the primary coil.

b Wind 25 turns of insulated wire around one arm of the other C-core. This forms the secondary coil.

c Connect the ends of the secondary coil to the galvanometer.

d Connect the ends of the primary coil, via the switch, to the cell.

e Close the switch. Bring the primary coil up to the secondary coil, as illustrated.

f Clip the two C-cores together to form a transformer. Open and close the switch, and watch the
galvanometer deflection changing.

g Replace the galvanometer with a lamp, and operate the switch.

h Connect the primary coil to the a.c. terminals of the power supply (2 V). Connect a second lamp in
parallel with the coil, as shown. Switch on. Which lamp glows more brightly?

Teaching notes

1 Care should be taken not to leave the cells connected for any length of time, as the primary coil may
become hot.

2 The lamp connected across the power supply will only glow faintly, whereas the lamp across the
secondary glows brightly as long as the length of wire in each coil is the same. To confirm that this is not
due to a difference in the two lamps, these should be interchanged.

3 Students could change the numbers of turns of wire on each coil; in this case, the total length should
remain constant (so that its resistance does not change).

A step-up transformer

Demonstration

Using lamps and meters to compare the voltages in the primary and secondary coils of a transformer.
Apparatus and materials

Demonstration meters, with AC dials (1 A, 5 A, 5 V), 2

C-cores and clip, pair of

Lamps (2.5 V, 0.3 A) in holders, 2

Copper wire, insulated with bare ends, 200 cm, 2 lengths

Leads, 4 mm, 4

Health & Safety and Technical notes

If general-purpose low voltage power units are used, it is possible that students will increase the voltage
applied to the primary above the suggested 2 V. In principle, the secondary voltage could become more
than twice the primary one. In practice, the overload cut-out will operate before the secondary voltage
becomes hazardous.

Apparatus set-up

Procedure

Brighter lamp

a Wind 10 turns of insulated wire around one arm of a C-core. This forms the primary coil.

b Wind 25 turns of insulated wire around one arm of the other C-core. This forms the secondary coil.

c Clip the two C-cores together to form a transformer.

d Connect the ends of the secondary coil to a lamp.

e Connect the ends of the primary coil to the AC terminals of the power supply. Connect a second lamp
in parallel.

f Switch on. Both lamps should light; the secondary lamp should be brighter.

g Insert the demonstration ammeter and voltmeter in the primary circuit, as shown. Note the readings.

h Insert the demonstration ammeter and voltmeter in the secondary circuit, as shown. Note the
readings.

diagram of set-up

Teaching notes

1 Although the primary current is less than 1 amp, it is advisable to use the 5-amp range of the ammeter.
This avoids any marked reduction in input to the transformer (as the meter's resistance will be lower).
You might disconnect the lamp from the secondary in order to observe the effect on the meters in the
primary circuit. In this case, the 1-amp range of the meter should be used for convenience.

2 With the circuit in operation, you could unclip the two C-cores, and gently separate them. Emphasize
that there is no electrical connection between the primary and secondary circuits. They are joined only
by the magnetic field in the cores.

3 Step-up and step-down transformers are used in electricity distribution networks to change the voltage
output from a power station (e.g. 25 kV) to that needed for high voltage transmission (e.g. 132 kV or 400
kV) and back down again for use in homes, factories and offices (e.g. 230 V). Higher voltages on the
power lines make the transmission process much more efficient.

Explaining how a transformer works

When an electric current passes through a long, hollow coil of wire there will be a strong magnetic field
inside the coil and a weaker field outside it. The lines of the magnetic field pattern run through the coil,
spread out from the end, and go round the outside and in at the other end.

Field inside and outside a coil

These are not real lines like the ones you draw with a pencil. They are lines that we imagine, as in the
sketch, to show the pattern of the magnetic field: the direction in which a sample of iron would be
magnetised by the field. Where the field is strongest, the lines are most closely crowded.

With a hollow coil the lines form complete rings. If there is an iron core in the coil it becomes
magnetised, and seems to make the field become much stronger while the current is on.
Stronger field inside an iron core

The iron core of a transformer is normally a complete ring with two coils wound on it. One is connected
to a source of electrical power and is called the 'primary coil'; the other supplies the power to a load and
is called the 'secondary coil'. The magnetisation due to the current in the primary coil runs all the way
round the ring. The primary and secondary coils can be wound anywhere on the ring, because the iron
carries the changes in magnetisation from one coil to the other. There is no electrical connection
between the two coils. However they are connected by the magnetic field in the iron core.

When there is a steady current in the primary there is no effect in the secondary, but there is an effect in
the secondary if the current in the primary is changing. A changing current in the primary induces an
e.m.f. in the secondary. If the secondary is connected to a circuit then there is a current flow.

A step-down transformer of 1,200 turns on the primary coil connected to 240 V a.c. will produce 2 V a.c.
across a 10-turn secondary (provided the energy losses are minimal) and so light a 2 V lamp.

A step-up transformer with 1,000 turns on the primary fed by 200 V a.c. and a 10,000-turn secondary
will give a voltage of 2,000 V a.c.

An iron core

The iron core is itself a crude secondary (like a coil of one turn) and changes of primary current induce
little circular voltages in the core. Iron is a conductor and if the iron core were solid, the induced voltages
would drive wasteful secondary currents in it (called 'eddy currents'). So the core is made of very thin
sheets clamped together, with the face of each sheet coated to make it a poor conductor. The edges of
the sheets can be seen by looking at the edges of a transformer core.

Chris Burtenshaw recommends the following website saying: "The following is an excellent circuit to
show the magnetisation curve (B/H) of different transformer or inductor core materials