Electrical transformers are devices that are used to transform one particular AC voltage into another AC voltage. Common iron core transformers are built by winding copper wire around an iron core, they have a primary winding and a secondary winding which are also commonly called the input side and output side respectively. There are many different types of AC transformers as you would imagine but their operating principles are basically the same, they all work on electromagnetic induction.
How They Work
If we look at a simple illustration of a single phase iron core transformer, we can see that it consists of an iron core, a primary winding and a secondary winding. The current produced in the primary winding will create an electromagnetic field, this magnetic energy is guided to the secondary winding by the iron core. The magnetic energy felt at the secondary winding creates a voltage potential in the secondary winding also known as the output side of the transformer. In very simple terms we have electrical energy in the primary winding converted to magnetic energy. Then magnetic energy converted back to electrical energy in the secondary winding.
Voltage In vs Voltage Out
The amount of voltage we get out of a transformer is determined by a very simple calculation. Vin/Vout = Nin/Nout. All this means is that the difference between the input voltage and the output voltage is directly proportional to the difference between the input number of winding turns versus the output number of winding turns. For example if an input winding is wound 6 times around an iron core and the output winding is wound 3 times around the iron core, then the output voltage will be half as much as the input voltage. It’s as simple as that.
To Recap:
Electrical transformers are electrical components that convert an input voltage to an output voltage. They do this by converting electrical energy from the input to magnetic energy, and then back to electrical energy at the output.
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