 Mutual inductance is the property of a coil which affects or changes the current and

voltage in a secondary coil. It is the effect of Faraday’s law of induction for one device
upon another, such as the primary coil in transmitting energy to the secondary in a
transformer.

 When two coils are brought in proximity with each other the magnetic field in one of the
coils tend to link with the other. This further leads to the generation of voltage in the
second coil.

 A large mutual inductance M may or may not be desirable. We want a transformer to have

a large mutual inductance. But an appliance, such as an electric clothes dryer, can induce
a dangerous emf on its case if the mutual inductance between its coils and the case is
large. One way to reduce mutual inductance M is to counterwind coils to cancel the
magnetic field produced.

 Like capacitance, mutual inductance is a geometric quantity. It depends on the shapes

and relative positions of the two coils, and it is independent of the currents in the coils. The
SI unit for mutual inductance M is called the henry (H) in honor of Joseph Henry (1799–
1878), an American scientist who discovered induced emf independently of Faraday.