Our life is made easier and more interesting by a lot of electronic devices that surround us everywhere: at home, at work, on vacation. Such devices as a TV, a mobile phone, a computer have become our integral assistants. There are many components of these devices, without which their operation would be impossible. One of these components is a transformer. This universal device is used both in equipment and is one of the main components in the power transmission system over a distance. It is difficult to name an electronic device where a transformer would not be used.
In 1831, the English physicist Michael Faraday discovered the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction, which formed the basis for the operation of the transformer. In the same year, a schematic image of it appeared . Although Faraday used the similarity of a modern transformer in his experiments, however, the main property of a transformer – the transformation of currents and voltages, was discovered later. Structurally, the transformer consists of a core and windings of copper wire wound on it. Moreover, these windings do not have electrical contact with each other. There may be several such windings, depending on the functional purpose and electrical characteristics of the transformer itself.
In 1848, the French mechanic G. Rumkorf invented an induction coil-the prototype of a transformer.
The date of birth of the first transformer is considered to be November 30, 1876, when the Russian inventor P. N. Yablochkov received a patent for a transformer with an open core. It was a rod with windings wound around it.
In 1884, the first closed-core transformer was created in England by brothers John and Edward Hopkinson.
At the end of the 1880s, engineer D. Swinburne invented oil cooling of the transformer – this increased the reliability and durability of its windings.
In 1889, the Russian electrical engineer M. O. Dolivo-Dobrovolsky, together with the three-phase alternating current system proposed by him, created the first three-phase transformer.
Further development of transformers was reduced to the improvement of the core material, which allowed to reduce losses and significantly increase the efficiency of transformers. Currently, there are a huge number of types of transformers.
Usually, three types of transformers are used in electronic circuits of household electrical appliances: a matching transformer, a current and voltage transformer. There are also step-down and step-up transformers. Their purpose follows from their name itself. Matching – agree on the electrical parameters of two parts of the same circuit or two or more different electrical circuits. Step-down – reduce the value of the current or voltage. That is, we supply one voltage (current) of one value (value) to the input of the transformer, and we get several times lower at the output. Step-ups do the same function, but in the opposite order – they do not reduce, but increase the value of the voltage (current).
So, more than one electronic device cannot do without transformers now. They are used both for converting voltage and current, and for matching various parts of the electronic circuit.
Source: website "Popular electronics"