an electric current induced in a massive conductor, such as the core of an electromagnet, transformer, etc, by an alternating magnetic field
Also called: Foucault current
eddy current in American English
noun
an electric current in a conducting material that results from induction by a moving or varying magnetic field
Word origin
[1590–1600, for an earlier sense]This word is first recorded in the period 1590–1600. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: attack, fixture, investment, squeeze, tea