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Coil

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''The term "Coil" is part of some names and ideas, see below for other uses or the disambiguation page.
A coil is a series of loops.

General applications

A helical spring.
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A helical spring.

A coil is made of materials, usually rigid, which can be fashioned into a spiral or helical shape. Flexible materials like wire, rope, hose, or cable can also be coiled into empty loops, or wound around a central drum or spindle.

Some common applications of coils include:

Electromagnetic

Diagram of typical transformer configurations
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Diagram of typical transformer configurations

In electrical engineering, an electromagnetic coil is formed when a metallic or conductive wire is looped around a core to create an electronic inductor or electromagnet. One loop of wire is usually referred to as one turn. A coil consists of one or more turns. For use in an electronic circuit, electrical connection terminals called taps are often connected to a coil. Coils are often coated with varnish and/or wrapped with insulating tape to provide additional insulation and secure them in place. A completed coil assembly with taps etc. is often called a winding. A transformer is an electromagnetic device that has a primary winding and a secondary winding that transfers energy from one electrical circuit to another by magnetic coupling without moving parts. The term tickler coil usually refers to a third coil placed in relation to a primary coil and secondary coil. A coil tap is a wiring feature found on some electrical transformers, inductors and coil pickups, all of which are sets of wire coils. The coil tap(s) are points in a wire coil where a conductive patch has been exposed (usually on a loop of wire that extends out of the main coil body).

Some common electromagnetic coils include:

A coilgun is a type of cannon that uses a series of electromagnetic coils to accelerate a magnetic shell to very high velocities.

Further reading
External articles

Chemistry, biology and medicine

RNA coil on the left and DNA coil on the right.
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RNA coil on the left and DNA coil on the right.

A chemistry coil is a tube of spiral form, used commonly to cool originating steam of the distillation and thus to condense them in liquid form. In the study of how molecules interact with each other, there are a few specific references to organic coils. During self-assembly, organic elements organize to form this structural pattern. Molecular self-assembly assembles the molecules, without guidance or management from an outside source, into these shapes.

Examples of these structural patterns include:

As an acronym, COIL denotes the Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser.
In medicine, Coil is a colloquial term applied to contraceptive intrauterine devices. Also in medicine, the Guglielmi Detachable Coil is a platinum coil commonly used in intracranial non-invasive surgery, for the occlusion of brain aneurysms.

Other uses

In fiction: In language: In music:

External links

 


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