Transformer

There are many transformers in my neighborhood as I suspect is the same in any neighborhood. Without these transformers our homes would not get the power that they need and nothing electrical would work. The need for transformers is due to the fact that power comes from the plant through electrical lines at very high voltages, into the tens of thousands! Most household appliances, however, operate on only a few hundred volts. So, there needs to be a way to reduce the power from its high voltage to a more usable voltage. This is where a transformer helps. Inside a transformer there are many coils, but lets just focus on two for the general concept. The two coils are separated by an iron core and as the full high voltage from the plant comes into the first coil a magnetic field is generated through the iron to the second coil and an emf is induced. This in turn creates a current in the second coil and this passes through a resistor and the emf becomes what is necessary for the resistor. The number of coils in the first and second coils also varies. The equation V1/V2=N1/N2 shows this as V is the emf and N is the number of loops, showing that the emf decreases proportionally to the number of loops on each side of the transformer.