Reed Relays and
Electronics India Limited

Electro-motive Force [EMF]

Electro-motive Force is a measure of the energy that causes current to flow through a circuit. It is also the potential difference in charge between two points in a circuit.

Electromotive_force (Wikipedia)

Electromotive force, abbreviated emf (denoted ${\displaystyle {\mathcal {E}}}$ and measured in volts), is the electrical intensity or "pressure" developed by a source of electrical energy such as a battery or generator. A device that converts other forms of energy into electrical energy (a "transducer") provides an emf as its output. (The word "force" in this case is not used to mean mechanical force, as may be measured in pounds or newtons.)

In electromagnetic induction, emf can be defined around a closed loop of conductor as the electromagnetic work that would be done on an electric charge (an electron in this instance) if it travels once around the loop. For a time-varying magnetic flux linking a loop, the electric potential scalar field is not defined due to a circulating electric vector field, but an emf nevertheless does work that can be measured as a virtual electric potential around the loop. (While electrical charges travel around the loop, their energy is typically converted into thermal energy due to the resistance of the conductor comprising the loop.)

In the case of a two-terminal device (such as an electrochemical cell) which is modeled as a Thévenin's equivalent circuit, the equivalent emf can be measured as the open-circuit potential difference or "voltage" between the two terminals. This potential difference can drive an electric current if an external circuit is attached to the terminals.

« Back to Glossary Index