StellarIf a conducting loop is part of a closed circuit, an induced emf produces an induced current. The direction is determined by Lenz’s law: the induced current creates its own magnetic field that opposes the change in flux through the loop. This often requires a two-step reasoning process. First determine whether the external flux through the loop is increasing or decreasing. Then determine what magnetic field the loop must create to oppose that change. From that, use the right-hand rule to find the current direction.
Induced currents can also lead to magnetic forces. Once current exists in a wire segment inside a magnetic field, the wire experiences a magnetic force
This connects induction back to the force ideas from Unit 12. A moving conductor in a magnetic field can generate emf, and that induced current can then create a force that opposes the motion. This is the deeper physical meaning of Lenz’s law and energy conservation in induction phenomena.