ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Eddy current brake

Eddy current brake is like when you try to stop a spinning toy by putting your hand on it. The toy starts to slow down because your hand is rubbing against it and making it harder to spin.

In the same way, an eddy current brake is a special kind of brake that uses magnets to make things stop spinning. When something is spinning and gets close to the magnets, it creates something called an "eddy current" which is like a tiny electric current. This current creates a magnetic field that fights against the spinning thing and makes it slow down.

So, imagine you have a wheel that you want to make stop spinning. You can put a special kind of magnet near the wheel, and as the wheel spins, it creates those eddy currents we talked about before. Those eddy currents then make it harder and harder for the wheel to keep spinning until it comes to a complete stop.

Eddy current brakes are great because they don't create friction like other kinds of brakes, which makes them really good for things like trains, roller coasters, and other big machines.