what is hall effect

The Hall effect is the production of a potential difference across an electrical conductor that is transverse to an electric current in the conductor and to an applied magnetic field perpendicular to the current. It was discovered by Edwin Hall in 1879. When a current-carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field perpendicular to the current, a measurable voltage is obtained at a right angle to the current path, which is known as the Hall effect. This effect is used to determine if a substance is a semiconductor or an insulator, and it can be used to measure the average drift velocity of charge carriers. The Hall effect is also used as a research tool to probe the movement of charges, their drift velocities, and densities in materials. Additionally, it has practical applications such as in the measurement of magnetic field strength, precision measurement of magnetic field strength, and the determination of blood flow rate.