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.

---

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

---

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).

---

Etymology

Origin of Hall effect

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

Example Sentences

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

From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026

The quantum Hall effect already plays a central role in modern measurement science.

From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026

They detected and magnetically controlled a non-Ohmic conduction termed the second-order Hall effect, where voltage responds orthogonally and quadratically to the applied electric current.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2024

The fractional quantum Hall effect is an example of the weird phenomena that can arise when particles shift from behaving as individual units to acting together as a whole.

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