How does increasing the frequency of a circuit affect the skin effect?

Increasing the frequency of a circuit enhances the skin effect. The skin effect refers to the phenomenon where alternating current (AC) tends to flow near the surface of a conductor rather than uniformly throughout its entire cross-section. This effect becomes more pronounced at higher frequencies because the changing magnetic fields associated with AC create eddy currents that push the current toward the outer surface of the conductor.

As the frequency increases, the depth at which the current penetrates the conductor decreases, meaning that more of the current is concentrated at the surface. This leads to a higher effective resistance as the current is restricted to a smaller area, which contributes to losses due to heating in the conductor. Therefore, a higher frequency directly correlates with an enhanced skin effect.

Understanding this relationship is crucial for applications that rely on AC, such as transformers and radio frequency transmission, where skin effect can significantly impact efficiency and performance.