Next  |  Prev  |  Up  |  Top  |  Index  |  JOS Index  |  JOS Pubs  |  JOS Home  |  Search


Mechanical Equivalent of an Inductor is a Mass

The mechanical analog of an inductor is a mass. The voltage $ v(t)$ across an inductor $ L$ corresponds to the force $ f(t)$ used to accelerate a mass $ m$ . The current $ i(t)$ through in the inductor corresponds to the velocity $ {\dot x}(t)$ of the mass. Thus, Eq.(E.4) corresponds to Newton's second law for an ideal mass:

$\displaystyle f(t) = m a(t),
$

where $ a(t)$ denotes the acceleration of the mass $ m$ .

From the defining equation $ \phi=Li$ for an inductor [Eq.(E.3)], we see that the stored magnetic flux in an inductor is analogous to mass times velocity, or momentum. In other words, magnetic flux may be regarded as electric-charge momentum.


Next  |  Prev  |  Up  |  Top  |  Index  |  JOS Index  |  JOS Pubs  |  JOS Home  |  Search

[How to cite this work]  [Order a printed hardcopy]  [Comment on this page via email]

``Introduction to Digital Filters with Audio Applications'', by Julius O. Smith III, (September 2007 Edition)
Copyright © 2023-09-17 by Julius O. Smith III
Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA),   Stanford University
CCRMA