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A TECHNICAL LOOK AT EDDY CURRENTS
Eddy Currents are caused when a moving (or fluctuating) magnetic field intersects a conductive material, or vice-versa. The relative motion between the magnetic fields causes a circulating flow of electrons, or current, within the conductor itself. These circulating eddy currents within the material create electromagnets with magnetic fields that actually oppose the applied magnetic field (see Lenz's law). The stronger the applied magnetic field, or greater the electrical conductivity of the conductor, or greater the relative velocity of motion, the greater the currents developed within the material and the greater the opposing field.
Eddy currents will be generated wherever a conducting object experiences a change in the intensity or direction of the magnetic field at any point within it, and not just at the boundaries.
The swirling current set up in the conductor is due to electrons experiencing a Lorentz force that is perpendicular to their motion. Hence, they veer to their right, or left, depending on the direction of the applied field and whether the strength of the field is increasing or declining. The resistivity of the conductor acts to damp the amplitude of the eddy currents, as well as straighten their paths. Lenz's law encapsulates the fact that the current swirls in such a way as to create an induced magnetic field that opposes the phenomenon that created it.
Eddy currents are the root cause of the skin effect in conductors carrying AC current.
The skin effect is the tendency of an alternating electric current (AC) to distribute itself within a conductor so that the current density near the surface of the conductor is greater than that at its core. That is, the electric current tends to flow at the "skin" of the conductor. The skin effect causes the effective resistance of the conductor to increase with the frequency of the current. Skin effect is due to eddy currents set up by the AC current. References: * Fitzgerald, A. E.; Kingsley, Charles Jr. and Umans, Stephen D. (1983). Electric Machinery, 4th ed., Mc-Graw-Hill, Inc., page 20. ISBN 0-07-021145-0. * Sears, Francis Weston; Zemansky, Mark W. (1955). University Physics, 2nd ed., Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, pages 616-618. |
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X-LINK |
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X-LINK OVERVIEW
The X-Link is an entirely new product in the audiophile world, it connects only to the groundside utilizing RCA plugs at each end. Yet, it is not an interconnect. It is a single cable that easily connects between any two components by utilizing any free, that is unused, RCA jack. It greatly enhances the musicality of any system by improving the ground plane that the components share. The X-Link is simply, yet elegantly, an inductive coupling designed to work with the most minute currents. It connects only to the groundside of the RCA jacks, thus the plugs found on the X-Link require no center pin, even though, we have decided to include them for ease of use and stability. Installation is easy.
Noise and stray energy called eddy currents present on the ground plane degrade the musical quality of your system. You lose definition and sense of pace, the natural coherence found in the musician’s performance is degraded. Artists include subtle inflections that the X-Link allows you to hear as never before. Most connections between components simply provided a conductive path between ground planes like the connection of a simple copper or silver wire. And, some have chosen to provide parallel wire connections between chassis’s trying to improve the ground plane, but, with limited success. The X-Link is entirely unique technology developed by us to better handle the stray energy associated with the dynamics involved with music reproduction. It’s inductive coupling is extremely sensitive to small fluctuations and reacts in ways the normal wire/conductive coupling simply cannot.
Pricing starts at $395 for 1/2 meter
Significant improvements were made with the beginning of 2010 previous owners of X-Link may contact us for our upgrade program. |