If a conductive slab has induced Eddy currents to oppose the change in magnetic flux, is the induced current uniformly distributed throughout the slab's volume or only at the surface? I might have confused myself with a room temperate copper vs. superconductor.
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$\begingroup$ That depends on the ratio between skin depth and slab dimensions. If the skin depth is small compared to the dimensions, the currents will be mostly near the surface, otherwise a (weak) current might be induced almost homogeneously in the volume. $\endgroup$– CuriousOneJul 4, 2016 at 8:27
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$\begingroup$ All electrons travel on the surface $\endgroup$– user5434678Jul 4, 2016 at 12:54
1 Answer
Practically, it cannot remain uniform due to the skin effect (even assuming a uniform material, a uniform magnetic field). You will have a depth which calculates as:
https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/503e00af2636a217d5c8be7d58ffce4a50e088dc