Transformer facts for kids
A transformer is a cool device that moves electrical energy from one electric path to another. It does this using electromagnetic induction, which is like a magnetic push, and it doesn't change the electricity's frequency. Transformers are super important in all electrical systems!
You can find transformers in many sizes. Some are tiny, like those inside a stage microphone. Others are huge, used in big power grids to move electricity over long distances.
The main job of a transformer is to change the voltage of electricity. High voltage is great for sending power far away. But for your home or office, a lower, safer voltage is needed. Transformers help make this change.
They usually have two coils of wire wrapped around a central core. The first coil, called the primary coil, gets the electricity. The second coil, the secondary coil, sends the power out. Energy moves from the first coil to the second using electromagnetism. Many transformers are used in power grids, which are networks that deliver electricity from where it's made to where people use it.
The transformers you see on electricity poles or connected to underground wires in your neighborhood often change high voltage (like 7,200 volts) into the 220-240 volts used for lights and appliances in homes. In some places, like America, homes use 120 volts. Transformers can't create more power. So, if the voltage goes up, the current goes down. If the voltage goes down, the current goes up.
Transformers inside electronics equipment provide the exact kind of electricity different parts need to work.
Types of Transformers
There are a few main types of transformers:
- Step-up transformer: This type makes the output voltage higher than the input voltage.
- Step-down transformer: This type makes the output voltage lower than the input voltage.
- Isolation transformer: Some transformers have the same output voltage as their input. They are used to keep two electrical paths completely separate, which can be safer.
Gallery
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Utility pole transformers
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Transformer in Melbourne, Australia
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Distribution transformer in Taiwan
Images for kids
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Pole-mounted distribution transformer
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Instrument transformer
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Power transformer overexcitation
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Interleaved E-I transformer laminations
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Substation transformer undergoing testing.
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Camouflaged Transformer in Langley City
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Transformer at the Limestone Generating Station in Manitoba, Canada
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"E" shaped plates for transformer cores
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Real transformer equivalent circuit
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Laminated core transformer
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Small toroidal core transformer
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Transformer windings
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Cutaway view of liquid-immersed transformer
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Faraday's experiment with induction
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Induction coil, 1900
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Faraday's ring transformer
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Shell form transformer sketch
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The ZBD team: Károly Zipernowsky, Ottó Bláthy and Miksa Déri
See also
In Spanish: Transformador para niños
