# Reducing eddy currents, changes the property of the conductor & circuit?

In an attempt of reducing the eddy currents in a conductor, such as having gaps to break the induced eddy currents, would that by any chance change the conductor's orientation from series to parallel?

An example, from the following diagrams:

Imagine both diagrams we're connected to a separate circuit somehow. Diagram(a) is a complete conductor inducing high eddy currents, also a series layout with respect to the circuit. However, if diagram (b) was connect to a circuit, would the conductor be oriented to a parallel circuit? Diving out the input current flow all around the conductor or is it still in series, regardless of the air gaps?

I guess, this goes deeper into my understanding of parallel/series circuit, I would understand that it's usually the components(resistors/diodes/inductors/ etc...) that are connected either in series, or parallel to a circuit. But what about a single individual wire, could it be broken down into the same concept?

Wires usually are in series, one whole piece of conductor, when it brakes into branches that would indicate a parallel circuit being formed, but what about the conductor in diagram(b) then?

A bit, odd comparing a single wire to a whole circuit but I hope the question(s) are clear enough.

• As shown the conductor is still improperly designed for the suppression of eddy currents. The effective loops have been made smaller and they have higher resistance, but they still exist. The correct way would have been to break it up into a fork like structure which does not have any loops, whatsoever. – CuriousOne Jun 27 '15 at 5:57
• True, but is the conductor now considered a sub-parallel circuit? Because of the breaks? When comparing it to a whole conductor that is considered a series circuit(no breaks all the wires are one making a whole piece). – Pupil Jun 27 '15 at 6:27
• It's not considered a circuit, at all. Circuits are an abstraction of electrodynamics for which the geometry of the connection between lumped elements doesn't matter. In this case the geometry does matter and circuit theory can't do anything to characterize the system and one has to actually understand the effects of induction on the geometry. – CuriousOne Jun 27 '15 at 8:13
• That's what I've thought initially, however, a wire could divide(split) the currents to $I$/$N$ of wires(assuming the wire's resistance is the same) at the equal voltage. The principle of series/parallel could be applied to a singular wire as well. – Pupil Jun 27 '15 at 16:09
• Your initial thought was better than your current thinking. Circuits don't describe geometry and are not meant to. You can, of course, introduce inductive circuit elements in series with resistors and try to model the interaction between them with a coupled transformer model... but that's going to be a drag and it does not describe the physical situation all that well. In any case, if you are working with eddy currents and EMF, then the real question is usually how to reduce them as much as possible, for which you have to know that a comb is the correct solution and not what you have there. – CuriousOne Jun 27 '15 at 16:15