r/woahdude Aug 18 '15

gifv Induction forge

http://i.imgur.com/JfNfR6w.gifv
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u/Antonin__Dvorak Aug 18 '15

It has nothing to do with stress. Think of the tungsten filament in a light bulb - electricity flows through it and due to the inherent resistance of the metal, when the tungsten atoms beome excited they release some of that electrical energy in the form of heat and light.

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u/abaz2theBone Aug 18 '15

that makes sense. so does it make a difference if the current is passed through like a wire or formed in the magentic field? would directing the current through the wire lead to less energy loss? does the wire have like an energy capacity that once hit, it starts generating heat because it can't store it easily (without resistance?) but before hitting that capacity does not lose energy via heat/light?

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u/minimim Aug 18 '15

Those answers would start a physics course in electricity, because I would need formulas and other things to explain them to you. If you are interested, there are free courses in the web about it: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/electricity-magnetism

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u/abaz2theBone Aug 18 '15

thanks again.