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Why is a Coil not a Short Circuit? All this and more with a Little Theory and a lot of Practice.
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- Published on Mar 13, 2026
- Today we will learn more about coils, qualities that make them quite useful in electricity as well as electronics.
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Well....using pulsating DC is misleading in this experiment. A coil indeed would've caused a dead short if pure DC voltage was used. Pulsating DC causes a magnetic field to build up and then collapse, both of which will cause inductance in the coil which acts just like resistance, preventing a dead short. I'm not sure what this experiment proves. All people educated in electricity principles would know what I have explained.
Yea you're right bro, what was this video even about 😅
if its not possible to apply 100% duty cycle DC to coils then solenoids would not exist
@g@gearloot Solenoid exists because the coil has enough resistance to not creat a dead short.. there are coils which have duty cycles. Putting them continuously under power will eventually damage the solenoid.
Estou no minuto 2:56
Para que o fio não gere um curto circuito, depende do seu comprimento.
Bobinas solenóides se transformam em imãs artificiais quando em seus terminais é aplicado uma diferença de potencial (tensão). Há solenóides em corrente alternada e corrente continua cuja diferença básica está na construção de seus núcleos de ferro magnético.
I repeated out loud to the video "It is a short at DC."
An eternity later... damn this is also possible do explain in 1min xD
My favorite differential equation for over 70 years - Voltage across an inductor, V = L(di/dt).
Pretty good tutorial. The Electrotechnology industry has a lot of abstract concepts and principles embedded in it. Welcome to life long learning.
Great. Thank you so much.
Thank you for Sharing great content
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much - very enlightening for me!!
Nicely explained. Thank you.
Very good explanation.
Well explained with crystal clarity. thanks
Verständlich erklärt, auch komplexe Konzepte werden leicht nachvollziehbar.
great lecture
An important notice: at about 1:30 he says that the current prefers the "short" path rather than the path through the bulb. This is not exactly true. The truth is: the current prefers ALL the available paths. It always does. When you introduce a short path, the conductance of all the branches that are parallel to it (light bulb in this case), including the short path itself, increases dramatically. This means that the total resistance of all the parallel paths (including the short path) decreases to about zero. Which means that the voltage drop through these parallel branches will be very small as well, so the voltage at the lightbulb will be very small too, meaning that the lightbulb can not shine due to this small voltage.
Before even watching the video. I work with radios and radars and I've wondered this for the last 20 years.
This is a legitimate Fear, that one must overcome, advancing to the Neon Bulb.
Great video! Thanks for describing in understandable terms something that has always puzzled me.
Like dammn
nice
Inductive reactance
❤❤
ขอบคุณครับ
Which type of power supply did you use to do this practical?
👍👍👍
Wow I was just thinking about this the other day too. I was thinking about to makin my own induction coil and I was like....wait-a-minute.....
It is a short circuit to DC... or pretty close depending on the length of wire.
Depends on the resistance not the length of the wire. A 1m Cooper wire has less resistance than a 1m aluminium wire.
You mean constant dc voltage
@alexwiseman5634does adding length not add resistance?
@jake-mv5oi of course. It does. But this is not the point
For real comparison, you should try the both wires of the same properties but straight and make another coil.
You have the current flowing in the wrong direction. In DC it flows from negative to positive.
Electronics, what an amazing law.
I don't know about SHORT circuit, but your fingers are surely SHORT 😂
1:23 & 1:36 You just demonstrated a fuse ⚡️
Is not a short in ac circuit. In dc circuit, yes, it is (in stead state).
What is stead state?
@test-rj2vlis a state where time t = equals infinity. Inductance is the capacity of a component to resist abrupt changes in current. With a resistor together they form a RL circuit. A kind of time circuit until the coil be fully loaded
It is a short with steady DC.
Thank You! One question: if we power the lamp with a battery (0Hz frequency) will the coil behave as a short circuit?
Thanks again, bye! 👍🏻
it depends on the length of the wire and it’s resistance, but yes, it would act like a short.
Yea a coil isn't a short on ac, depends on the frequency.
But with DC yeah it's just an electromagnet
One it's magnetically saturated, stops acting like a resistive capacitor and turns to a short
Until you remove power, and then get sparks from the magnetic field collapse in the core, if using a core.
That's why it's used in DC filtering along with capacitor, and how boost converters work
They can block ac ripple but pass a dc current
@Clancydaenlightened That's basically how a car coil works is it not? So, it would be bad to leave the ignition turned on without running the engine?
@johannesvanschalkwyk304yes.. the coil would overheat.
Yes, but not immediately. Only when the coil is fully energized with magnetic energy will it become a short circuit. It has a transient time.
Number one 1) You don't say if the electricity is AC or DC??????????
As I understand it, it is switched DC that is why it has a frequency.
He did say pulsed d.c but that doesn't explain it to those who don't know what he means. He could have said it's form of a.c.
@bill-2018 ⚡I think that would confuse those not familiar with the concept. Actually, to be considered a form of AC, the wave form must travel above AND BELOW 0V. Think bridge rectifier... AC in, DC out. Simply because the diodes in the BR block half of the wave form, making the output pulsed DC. 👍🏼
@superhiway
Yes, I tried to put it in a simple way that people might understand.
Cheers, Bill, G4GHB.
Inductance is what keeps a circuits amperage where it needs to be. Capacitance maintains voltage is circuit
Because of electric field around the conductor, coil shape make it amplified...
A square wave does have a fundamental sinusoidal frequency the same as the square wave, but also includes the summation of multiple harmonics to create the sharp switching edges of that square wave. The formula Xl = jωL (j= √(-1), ω=2πf) is based on a single frequency sinusoidal wave i.e. V = Vo sin(ωt).
okay DATA....WHAT EVER....YOU ALWAYS RIGHT !!
Have you seen the WiFi-BlueTooth transmitter-receiver antennas in laptops and computers? They look like a short circuit.
"They look like a short circuit."
Very short indeed!
You did not really say exactly why it is not a short circuit. Thank you for the effort on this great video. I presume that the frequency changes makes the coil to oppose the current flowing through it.
6:03 He did say it.
It is a short circuit, but the current is getting the goldfish effect because it’s AC and it never gets to see the edges of the bowl
Just a suggestion, using a darker pencil would help us to see the formula.
And keeping hand out of the way
Love this sort of thing but can't see thin pencil writing. Please use a dark pen.
As long as the theoretical resistance is high enough, DC won't be a short circuit, right?
An inductor is a short at dc because if it does not turn off quickly the coil quickly saturates pulling more current. At ac the polarity changes quickly that the coil does not have enough time to build up its maximum magnetic field which now acts as a open circuit at high frequencies
If you take the same coil wire and unwind it then connect the ends the same way what's gonna be the results?
It will short circuit, hence it has less inductance.
🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯😎😎😎💯💯💯
It’s not shorti if you’re continuously changing your direction itis if you wanna make a full lap
will he ever answer the question? did he answer it? pls tell in the comments
He’s still adjusting his meter
This is just a inductive voltage
A coil is a boomerang
Professor Nelson the robot
What is a multimiter?
You spelled it wrong.
It is not a short circuit in AC current, but in DC it is a short circuit.
apply dc power to a coil = magnat.
"Miles of copper wire winding" as they say
I believe it's Lenz law or something like that. The current flow sets up a magnetic field ikn the coil which affects the current flow actually through it, turning it into an inductor
Proper term for “resistance” through a coil is impedance, not resistance as it is reactive and is not finite, it changes depending on its magnetic field.
This video was dubbed automatically by RUclips.So it may have made a few mistakes.
The wire has to be insulated with a thin coating of lacquer so it won't cause a short between windings !
Thank you for the bleeding obvious! 😂
@TaunterAtwill That’s a bit unfair I bet a lot of newbies appreciated that comment.
@tommy6971-l2t I know, read my name.
That's not the point of the video.
Because it is long circuit?
It's a car stop/tail lamp and normally would be expected to operate at 12v DC. When the coil was placed across the lamp and it dimmed it was obvious to me that the supply MUST be AC.
Say what you aim to demonstrate then do so. Don't pretend a coil is some kind of magic that doesn't conform to normal rules. It is an inductor! Explain it! Or don't make misleading videos. Some people will watch half and get the wrong idea. I've watched less than 3 minutes and already know where this going.
What did you use for speech generation?
Obviously it was one that couldn't say multimeter properly
ai
@GE_SCADA What tipped you off?😂
@russon22 His Indian hands
The coil has slight resistance (unless you're using a super conductor). The light filament has slight resistance too. Using Kirchoff's Law, you can calculate the resistance of the light and inductor in parallel. But if you use a smaller inductor, with lower resistance, the light WILL go out. This is not the proper use of an inductor, which is used either in series with voltage (typically DC) or in a buck converter type circuit
A short cct for dc
im not that bright, why is the bulb not a short ?
"
Why is a Coil not a Short Circuit?"
It is a *long circuit* wound into a coil so it does not take up so much room.
Pulsating DC
It is simple. Current will always find the least resistant path. The coil has higher resistance then the lightbulb, so while the current attempted to go through the coil, it also finds a lower resistant path through the bulb. Therefore, it flows through it. When placing a shorter wire, the resistance is lower and current flows through the wire instead. It wont stop untill the wire burned completely before it flows completely through the light.
Incorrect. Path of least IMPEDANCE, not least resistance.
Also, the current doesn't "flow in the wire". The current flows in the plastic, in the dielectric. The current is always in the fields not the wire.
Take a vodka shot for every time he says "a coil is not a short circuit".
So a coil uses coated wire? Otherwise wouldn't bare wire in a coil simply act as a single thicker wire? (I'm new to this) Good video!
Yes the wire has to be insulated.
The coil used in the video has a layer of a lacquer type insulation. It's thin and clear.
A coil needs a cap a diod and a switch
longer travel distance
I think the AI voice says the coil won’t short circuit at least 100 x
what about if the coil is insulated?
How do you mean?
𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕚𝕝 𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔 𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕔𝕚𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕣 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕟𝕖𝕥.
𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕, 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔 𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕖?
Best viewed at 2x speed
Very informative but tortoise paced delivery :)
Throw DC at that coil and it'll become a short as well.
Is your inductor coil not shorting your circuit? No worries folks, I have an affordable solution. Just one spare wire soldered across it's leads will fix the issue immediately. Guaranteed to short out any portion of any circuit every time. lol
A coil is a short circuit! That's why your equipment goes dead if you leave the charger attached but not plugged in..😎
Electricity is like magic
Not magic. It’s actually science.
@rickylee2477 there is nothing wrong with calling science : magic 😅.
Go to 10:00 first.😢
FIRST: you should start explaining the KIND of supply you are giving! DC, AC, Pulse, etc? That changes everything.
Technically speaking, it’s no different than the incandescent lightbulb. It theoretically creates a short circuit, however, because the wire has a high resistance, it doesn’t short circuit, but instead creates heat and light. When you used the wire to short circuit. It too basically acted like the light bulb, because even that wire has a certain amount of resistance. It created heat, and light. But burned out very quickly due to the oxygen in the air.
Yeah but if the short wire was isolated with inert gases, then it would sustain the light too 😅 right
Long story short, its a long circuit, not short😅
Multimmeter
hehehehehe
Sir you can not explain further
нихера не понятно
Mall Tim Itter
This is a confusing way to explain something simple. The resistance isn't the same between the coil and a straight wire. That meter is busted or something. I would say the coil is at least 1 ohm. The reason why it doesn't burn is because it's too long of a piece of wire, again higher resistance.
Hmmmm. The voice dont match the hands. Hmmmm
interesting topic but stupid repeating and waiting for anything to happen. I hate those kinds of videos... no brain to make it interesting
Six minutes to "explain", that a piece of wire is a shortcut, and a coil is not. No mentioning, that AC was used. In minute six comes the aha-moment: inductivity. If the rest of the video goes on in that pace: No, thank you.
Well he did say pulsed d.c. which doesn't really explain it to people who don't know what he means. He could have said it's a form of a.c.
And can you learn to say Multimeter correctly. It's Multi Meter as in a Metre with Multiple functions. What the hell is a Mul Tim itter?
This video really drags out
Why the video creator doesn't hold the coil on for longer than very short time? Scared of damaging the coil perhaps. This was long vinded explanation that I didn't bother watching to the end even. Now I sit left with unexplained beginnings. Not going to subscribe to this channel that is for sure
This AI narration is for the Birds
I can't stand it.
But since it says "English US (original)" I couldn't use the other languages.
The AI translation of the other languages would be much more bs 😂😂
I’m Henery the eighth I am
Henery the eighth I am I am……
Cuz it's a long circuit....🤷
I'm so sick of AI generated narration.
Good but unnecessarily too lengthy
Multimiter pronunciation. Apparent ai glitch.
This video is a joke. Alternating Current, pulsating D.C. are not the same. To make a valid argument you have to give the power source info, at least the frequency, voltage