Magnetic amplifier

The magnetic amplifier (colloquially known as a "mag amp") is an electromagnetic device for
amplifying electrical signals. The magnetic amplifier was invented early in the 20th century, and was
used as an alternative to vacuum tube amplifiers where robustness and high current capacity were
required. World War II Germany perfected this type of amplifier, and it was used in the V-2 rocket. The
magnetic amplifier was most prominent in power control and low-frequency signal applications from
1947 to about 1957, when the transistor began to supplant it.[1] The magnetic amplifier has now been
largely superseded by the transistor-based amplifier, except in a few safety critical, high-reliability or
extremely demanding applications. Combinations of transistor and mag-amp techniques are still used.

Contents
Principle of operation
Strengths
Limitations
Applications
Usage in computing
History
Early development
Usage in electric power generation
Misnomer uses
See also
References
External links

Principle of operation
Visually a mag amp device may resemble a transformer, but the
operating principle is quite different from a transformer –
essentially the mag amp is a saturable reactor. It makes use of
magnetic saturation of the core, a non-linear property of a certain
class of transformer cores. For controlled saturation
characteristics, the magnetic amplifier employs core materials
that have been designed to have a specific B-H curve shape that
is highly rectangular, in contrast to the slowly tapering B-H curve
of softly saturating core materials that are often used in normal
transformers.

The typical magnetic amplifier consists of two physically A saturable reactor, illustrating the
separate but similar transformer magnetic cores, each of which principle of a magnetic amplifier
has two windings: a control winding and an AC winding. A small
DC current from a low-impedance source is fed into the series-
connected control windings. The AC windings may be connected either in series or in parallel, the
configurations resulting in different types of mag amps. The amount of control current fed into the
control winding sets the point in the AC winding waveform at which either core will saturate. In
saturation, the AC winding on the saturated core will go from a high-impedance state ("off") into a very
low-impedance state ("on") – that is, the control current controls the point at which voltage the mag amp
switches "on".

A relatively small DC current on the control winding is able to control or switch large AC currents on the
AC windings. This results in current amplification.

Two magnetic cores are used because the AC current will generate high voltage in the control windings.
By connecting them in opposite phase, the two cancel each other, so that no current is induced in the
control circuit.

Strengths
The magnetic amplifier is a static device with no moving parts. It has no wear-out mechanism and has a
good tolerance to mechanical shock and vibration. It requires no warm-up time.[2] Multiple isolated
signals may be summed by additional control windings on the magnetic cores. The windings of a
magnetic amplifier have a higher tolerance to momentary overloads than comparable solid-state devices.
The magnetic amplifier is also used as a transducer in applications such as current measurement and the
flux gate compass. The reactor cores of magnetic amplifiers withstand neutron radiation extremely
well.[3] For this special reason magnetic amplifiers have been used in nuclear power applications.[4]

Limitations
The gain available from a single stage is limited and low compared to electronic amplifiers. Frequency
response of a high-gain amplifier is limited to about one-tenth the excitation frequency, although this is
often mitigated by exciting magnetic amplifiers with currents at higher than utility frequency.[1] Solid-
state electronic amplifiers can be more compact and efficient than magnetic amplifiers. The bias and
feedback windings are not unilateral and may couple energy back from the controlled circuit into the
control circuit. This complicates the design of multistage amplifiers when compared with electronic
devices.[1]

Applications
Magnetic amplifiers were important as modulation and control amplifiers in the early development of
voice transmission by radio.[2] A magnetic amplifier was used as voice modulator for a 2 kilowatt
Alexanderson alternator, and magnetic amplifiers were used in the keying circuits of large high-
frequency alternators used for radio communications. Magnetic amplifiers were also used to regulate the
speed of Alexanderson alternators to maintain the accuracy of the transmitted radio frequency.[2]
Magnetic amplifiers were used to control large high-power alternators by turning them on and off for
telegraphy or to vary the signal for voice modulation. The alternator's frequency limits were rather low to
where a frequency multiplier had to be utilized to generate higher radio frequencies than the alternator
was capable of producing. Even so, early magnetic amplifiers incorporating powdered-iron cores were
incapable of producing radio frequencies above approximately 200 kHz. Other core materials, such as
ferrite cores and oil-filled transformers, would have to be developed to allow the amplifier to produce
higher frequencies.
The ability to control large currents with small control power made magnetic amplifiers useful for control
of lighting circuits, for stage lighting and for advertising signs. Saturable reactor amplifiers were used for
control of power to industrial furnaces.[2] Magnetic amplifiers are still used in some arc welders.

Small magnetic amplifiers were used for radio tuning indicators, control of small motor and cooling fan
speed, control of battery chargers.

Magnetic amplifiers were used extensively as the switching element in early switched-mode (SMPS)
power supplies,[5] as well as in lighting control. Semiconductor-based solid-state switches have largely
superseded them, though recently there has been some regained interest in using mag amps in compact
and reliable switching power supplies. PC ATX power supplies often use mag amps for secondary side
voltage regulation. Cores designed specifically for switch mode power supplies are currently
manufactured by several large electromagnetics companies, including Metglas and Mag-Inc.

Magnetic amplifiers were used by locomotives to detect wheel slip, until replaced by Hall Effect current
transducers. The cables from two traction motors passed through the core of the device. During normal
operation the resultant flux was zero as both currents were the same and in opposite directions. The
currents would differ during wheel slip, producing a resultant flux that acted as the Control winding,
developing a voltage across a resistor in series with the AC winding which was sent to the wheel slip
correction circuits.

Magnetic amplifiers can be used for measuring high DC-voltages without direct connection to the high
voltage and are therefore still used in the HVDC-technique. The current to be measured is passed through
the two cores, possibly by a solid bus bar. There is almost no voltage drop in this bus bar. The output
signal, proportional to the ampere turns in the control current bus bar, is derived from the alternating
excitation voltage of the magnetic amplifier, there is no voltage created or induced on the bus bar. The
output signal has only a magnetic connection with the bus bar so the bus may be, quite safely, at any
(EHT) voltage with respect to the instrumentation.

Instrumentation magnetic amplifiers are commonly found on space craft where a clean electromagnetic
environment is highly desirable.

The German Kriegsmarine made extensive use of the magnetic amplifiers. They were used for the master
stable element systems, for slow moving transmission for controlling guns, directors and rangefinders
and train and elevation controls. Magnetic amplifiers were used in aircraft systems (avionics) before the
advent of high reliability semiconductors. They were important in implementing early autoland systems
and Concorde made use of the technology for the control of its engine air intakes before development of
a system using digital electronics. Magnetic amplifiers were used in stabilizer controls of V2 rockets.

Usage in computing
Magnetic amplifiers were widely studied during the 1950s as a potential switching element for
mainframe computers. Mag amps could be used to sum several inputs in a single core, which was useful
in the arithmetic logic unit (ALU). Custom tubes could do the same, but transistors could not, so the mag
amp was able to combine the advantages of tubes and transistors in an era when the latter were expensive
and unreliable.
The principles of magnetic amplifiers were applied non linearly to create magnetic digital logic gates.
That era was short, lasting from the mid-1950s to about 1960, when new fabrication techniques produced
great improvements in transistors and dramatically lowered their cost. Only one large-scale mag amp
machine was put into production, the UNIVAC Solid State, but a number of contemporary late-
1950s/early-1960s computers used the technology, like the Ferranti Orion and the English Electric KDF9,
or the one-off MAGSTEC.

History

Early development
A voltage source and a series connected variable resistor may be regarded as a direct current signal
source for a low resistance load such as the control coil of a saturable reactor which amplifies the signal.
Thus, in principle, a saturable reactor is already an amplifier, although before 20th century they were
used for simple tasks, such as controlling lighting and electrical machinery as early as 1885.[6][7][8]

In 1904 radio pioneer Reginald Fessenden placed an order for a high frequency rotary mechanical
alternator from the General Electric Company capable of generate AC at a frequency of 100 kHz to be
used for continuous wave radio transmission over great distances.[9][10] The design job was given to
General Electric engineer Ernst F. Alexanderson who developed the 2 kW Alexanderson alternator. By
1916 Alexanderson added a magnetic amplifier to control the transmission of these rotary alternators for
transoceanic radio communication.[11][12]

The experimental telegraphy and telephony demonstrations made during 1917 attracted the attention of
the US Government, especially in light of partial failures in the transoceanic cable across the Atlantic
Ocean. The 50 kW alternator was commandeered by the US Navy and put into service in January 1918
and was used until 1920, when a 200 kW generator-alternator set was built and installed.

Usage in electric power generation

Magnetic amplifiers were extensively used in electricity power generation from the early 1960s onwards.
They provided the small signal amplification for generator automatic voltage regulation (AVR) from a
small error signal at milliwatt (mW) level to 100 kilowatt (kW) level. This was in turn converted by a
rotating machine (exciter) to 5 megawatt (MW) level, the excitation power required by a typical 500 MW
Power Plant Turbine Generator Unit. They proved durable and reliable. Many are recorded in service
through the mid-1990s and some are still in use at older generating stations, notably in hydroelectric
plants operating in northern California.

Misnomer uses
In the 1970s, Robert Carver designed and produced several high quality high-powered audio amplifiers,
calling them magnetic amplifiers. In fact, they were in most respects conventional audio amplifier
designs with unusual power supply circuits. They were not magnetic amplifiers as defined in this article.
They should not be confused with real magnetic audio amplifiers, which also exist.

See also
 Parametron
Magnetic logic
Transductor

A real magnetic audio amplifier, designed by Swedish

engineer Lars Lundahl, utilizes saturable reactors in its
final power amplifying stage.

References
1. H. P. Westman et al, (ed), Reference Data for Radio Engineers, Fifth Edition, 1968, Howard
W. Sams and Co., no ISBN, Library of Congress Card No. 43-14665 chapter 14
2. H. F. Storm, Magnetic Amplifiers, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1955 page 383
3. Lynn, Gordon E.; Pula, Thaddeus J.; Ringelman, John F.; Timmel, Frederick G. (1960).
"Effects on Nuclear Radiation on Magnetic Materials". Self-saturating Magnetic Amplifiers.
New York: McGraw-Hill. LCCN 60-6979 (https://lccn.loc.gov/60-6979). "The nature of
ferromagnetic materials results in far less damage from nuclear radiation than is done to
semiconductor materials. … One study devoted to the problem indicates that the major
damage to core material suitable for self-saturating magnetic amplifiers consists of loss of
loop rectangularity and increased dynamic coercive force. This study was made at a total
integrated neutron flux of 2.7 ✕ neutrons/ ."
4. Gilmore, Ken (July 1960). "Magnetic Amplifiers – how they work and what they do" (http://w
ww.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/60s/60/Pop-1960-07.pdf) (PDF). Popular
Electronics. New York, New York: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. 13 (1): 71–75, 109.
Retrieved 2014-10-20. "The electronic watchdogs that keep the Triton's powerful nuclear
plant operating without a hitch are magnetic amplifiers – almost hundred of them are used
for this critical job."
5. Abraham I. Pressman (1997). Switching Power Supply Design. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-
052236-7.
6. Electronics Design and Development Division, ed. (May 1954) [1951]. "History". Magnetic
Amplifiers – A Rising Star in Naval Electronics. 18th and Constitution Avenue, Washington
25, D.C.: Bureau of Ships, Department of the Navy. p. 2. NAVSHIPS 900,172. "The
magnetic amplifier is not new – the principles of the saturable core control were used in
electrical machinery as early as 1885 although they were not identified as such."
7. Mali, Paul (August 1960). "Introduction" (https://web.archive.org/web/20061114175548/htt
p://www.pmillett.com/Books/mag_amp.pdf) (PDF). Magnetic Amplifiers – Principles and
Applications. New York: John F. Rider Publisher. p. 1. Library of Congress Catalog Number
60-12440. Retrieved 2010-09-19. "Magnetic amplifiers were developed as early as 1885 in
the United States. At that time they were known as saturable reactors and were used
primarily in electrical machinery and in theater lighting."
 8. Kemp, Barron (August 1962). "Magnetic Amplifiers". Fundamentals of Magnetic Amplifiers.
Indianapolis, Indiana: Howard W. Sams & Co. p. 7. Library of Congress Catalog Card
Number: 62-19650. "The use of magnetic forces for amplification is not new; a survey of its
history shows that although the device was not known as a magnetic amplifier at the time, it
was used in electrical machinery as early as 1885."
9. Ernst F. Alexanderson, The accomplishments and life of E. F. Alexanderson, 1878-1975,
Edison Tech Center- 2014 (http://www.edisontechcenter.org/alexanderson.html)
10. Milestones:Alexanderson Radio Alternator, 1904
11. Wilson, Thomas G. (1999). The Evolution of Power Electronics. Fourteenth Annual Applied
Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, 1999. APEC '99. 1. pp. 3–9.
doi:10.1109/APEC.1999.749482 (https://doi.org/10.1109%2FAPEC.1999.749482).
ISBN 978-0-7803-5160-8.
12. George Trinkaus, The Magnetic Amplifier, Nuts & Volts Magazine - February 2006 (http://ww
w.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/the_magnetic_amplifier)

Alexanderson, E. F. W., "Transoceanic Radio Communication," General Electric Review,

October 1920, pp. 794–797.
Cheney, Margaret, "Tesla: Man Out of Time," 1981, New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Chute, George M., "Magnetic Amplifiers," Electronics in Industry, 1970, New York: McGraw-
Hill, Inc., pp. 344–351.
Oldham, D.T and Schindler, P.B., "An excitation system for 500MW generators;" Turbine-
Generator Engineering, AEI Turbine-Generators, Trafford Park, Manchester, 1964.
Trinkaus, George, "The Magnetic Amplifier: A Lost Technology of the 1950s," Nuts & Volts,
February 2006, pp. 68–71.
Trinkaus, George, editor, "Magnetic Amplifiers: Another Lost Technology," 1951: Electronics
Design and Development Division, Bureau of Ships, United States Navy.

External links
Magnetic Amplifier Control for Simple, Low-Cost, Secondary Regulation - B. Mammano,
Texas Instruments Seminar 500 (http://focus.ti.com/lit/ml/slup129/slup129.pdf)
MAG-AMP Magnetic Amplifiers Intro, Butlerwinding (https://web.archive.org/web/200906030
71406/http://www.butlerwinding.com/elelectronic-transformer/mag-amp.html)
Homemade Magnetic Amplifiers. (http://www.sparkbangbuzz.com/mag-amp/mag-amp.htm)

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