Back emf in Electric Motors

In an electric motor, an emf supplies current through wire loops in a magnetic field; the wire loops
then experience a force and rotate. As the wire loops rotate, they cut magnetic flux lines and
therefore, a secondary emf is induced in the wire. According to Lenz’s Law, this induced emf must
be in the opposite direction to the supplied emf otherwise current increases for free and the Law of
Conservation of Energy is broken. The induced emf is called back emf.

Fig. 1: Wire loop in a magnetic field

(from Andriessen, M. et al. (2008) Physics 2 HSC Course; Milton: John Wiley & Sons)

Because the back emf opposes the supplied emf, the net voltage across the wire loops is less,
leading to a reduced current. In fact, the faster the motor rotates, the larger the back emf until it
exactly opposes the supplied emf, giving a net voltage of zero in the wire loop. In this situation, the
current in the wire loop is also zero; therefore, there is no force on the wire and the motor keeps
rotating at a constant rate.

Starting Resistors for Motors

If a motor is overloaded, it rotates too slowly and the back emf generated is very small. Hence, the
supplied emf remains high and can send a large current through the wire, burning out the motor. To
avoid this, a resistor is connected in series to the motor to cap the current and it switches out when
the motor rotates to a higher speed.