Hall effect

American  

noun

Physics, Electricity.

1. the electromotive force generated in a strip of metal longitudinally conducting an electric current and subjected to a magnetic field normal to its major surface.

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Hall effect British  

noun

1. the production of a potential difference across a conductor carrying an electric current when a magnetic field is applied in a direction perpendicular to that of the current flow

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Hall effect Scientific  

/ hôl /

1. A phenomenon that occurs when an electric current moving through a conductor is exposed to an external magnetic field applied at a right angle, in which an electric potential develops in the conductor at a right angle to both the direction of current and the magnetic field. The Hall effect is a direct result of Lorentz forces acting on the charges in the current, and is named after physicist Edwin Herbert Hall (1855–1938).

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Etymology

Origin of Hall effect

1900–05; named after Edwin H. Hall (1855–1938), American physicist who discovered it

Example Sentences

Their experiments showed that the nonlinear Hall effect remains stable even at room temperature, an important step toward practical applications outside the laboratory.

From Science Daily • Jun. 4, 2026

Until recently, the quantum Hall effect had been observed primarily in electrons.

From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026

This phenomenon became known as the quantum Hall effect.

From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026

In 1982, scientists discovered the fractional quantum Hall effect in heterostructures of gallium arsenide, where a gas of electrons confined in a two-dimensional plane is placed under high magnetic fields.

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024

The Hall effect would naturally tend to make the frequency of a wave through a resisting medium change, and lengthen.

From Invaders from the Infinite by Campbell, John Wood