autotransformer
nounEtymology From auto- + transformer.
1
Business, Electrical, Electrical engineering, Electricity, Electromagnetism, Energy, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics A transformer with a single winding, its output being taken from taps.
- One of the principal features of the ordinary configurations of the transformer [...] is the electrical isolation that exists between the primary and secondary windings. [...] Whenever large transformation ratios are involved, safety demands that ordinary transformers be used. However, in instances where the transformation ratio is close to unity (which minimizes the hazard), a transformer employing a single tapped winding may be used with notable advantages. [...] This arrangement is called the autotransformer.1990, Vincent Del Toro, chapter 2, in Basic Electric Machines, →ISBN, page 89:
- Synonyms
- balancing coil, compensator