Article
Article
Skin effect (electricity)
Article By:
Benson, Frank A. Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.627200
The tendency for an alternating current to concentrate near the outer part or “skin” of a conductor. For a steady unidirectional current through a homogeneous conductor, the current distribution is uniform over the cross section; that is, the current density is the same at all points in the cross section. With an alternating current, the current is displaced more and more to the surface as the frequency increases. The conductor's effective cross section is therefore reduced so the resistance and energy dissipation are increased compared with the values for a uniformly distributed current. The effective resistance of a wire rises significantly with frequency; for example, for a copper wire of 1-mm (0.04-in.) diameter, the resistance at a frequency of 1 MHz is almost four times the dc value. See also: Alternating current; Electrical resistance
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