Hall effect

Oh hi there! Do you know what magnet is? Yes? Great! So when a magnet is placed next to a metal, it creates a force that we call a magnetic field. This magnetic field affects the electric current that flows through the metal. When we move the metal through the magnetic field, something interesting happens – the movement of the metal causes the electric current in the metal to change. This is what we call the Hall Effect!

Let's imagine you are playing with a toy car and you place a magnet under the car. When you move the car, you can see it moving in a specific way. Similarly, when we place a magnet and a thin piece of metal (also called a 'semiconductor') together and pass an electric current through it, we can see a change in the electric current flow that is perpendicular to the magnet and the electric current flowing in the metal. This change in the electric current is the Hall Effect!

So, whenever we want to know if there is a magnetic field nearby, we can use the hall effect sensor. The hall effect sensor is a small device that is created using a semiconductor and a magnet that is placed near it. This sensor can detect the magnetic field and can tell us about the strength and direction of the field. So, we can use this sensor in things like car engines to see how fast the engine is running, or in computer hard drives, to tell where the data is stored.

Now, wasn't that fascinating? Remember, the Hall Effect is just how the movement of metal and a magnet can change the flow of electric current. Cool, right?