Quote:
Originally Posted by Argus25
To clarify a little more, the term "back emf" I think was coined to describe "counter-emf".
Counter emf was to describe something being countered, in this case the voltage or emf source applied to an inductor (or as pointed out applied to a motor).
This is why "back emf" or a back emf supply is an inappropriate term for these types of impulse power supplies that rely on a collapsing field for a high voltage pulse.
Looking at the plethora of examples on the internet where collapsing fields generating a voltage peak have been called "back emf" its not a wonder there is so much confusion about what it means.
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I'd be very much inclined to agree with Argus, use of 'back-EMF' is inappropriate for the nuisance voltage spike generated by a relay coil, or for the flyback voltage in a power supply or timebase transformer.
But, unfortunately, it's become established. And ultimately, it's what people understand by a word or phrase which matters, whether or not the words of the phrase are appropriate or not.