Heinrich Friedrich Emil Lenz Biography

Heinrich Friedrich Emil Lenz

(Dorpat, 1804-Rome, 1865) Russian physicist.Professor and rector of the University of Saint Petersburg, he studied the Peltier effect, the conductivity of metals and the variation of electrical resistance with temperature.He stated a law that allows knowing the direction and direction of the induced current in an electrical circuit.

Heinrich Lenz

He studied physics and chemistry at the University of Dorpat and, still very young, took part as a geophysicist in an expedition around the world, during which he made measurements on the level of salt, the temperature and the pressure of seas and oceans.Later settled in Saint Petersburg, he taught at the University and the Academy of Sciences of this city, of which he would become dean and rector.

Lenz studied electrical conductivity and discovered the effect known as Joule effect regardless of the experiences and conclusions reached in this regard by James Prescott Joule, the British scientist who gave it its name.Lenz's law, enunciated in 1833, was Heinrich Lenz's great contribution to electromagnetic studies; This law makes it possible to determine the direction of the current induced by a variation of the flow covered by a circuit.

To generate an electric current it is necessary to carry out mechanical work or, in some way, develop energy.Therefore, in accordance with the principle of conservation of energy, the generated current will constitute a resistance that must be overcome.Lenz's law expresses this by saying that the direction of the induced current is such that it tends to oppose the cause that causes it.Thus, when a magnet is brought close to a loop, the induced current that appears in it has a sense of circulation such that it creates a magnetic field that repels the magnet.On the other hand, when separating the magnet, the induced current will now be opposite to the previous one and will attract the magnet.