Transformer bushings are a very integral part of transformers and the way they function in different types of capacities.

The bushings are necessary to complete the conductive energy output of the volts that are transformed within the transformer so that they can then move through mediums such as air and gas, including the grounding barriers that each unit is designed with. Manufacturers develop each transformer with the location they will be used and the transformer bushings they will require in mind, because every type of design is unique to the situation it will be used in. In order to ground transformers, power transformer bushings are needed to carry the electrical charge completely through the grounding and on as a voltage output. The different types of bushings used, depends on where you place the transformer and what it is being used for. In order to ensure safety, the casings that these transformers are created and stored in are built with every possible safety feature possible in mind. This is the only way to ensure that voltage is carried through a circuit evenly and completely, as well as carried as quickly as possible so that there is no lag in a source of the power output available. Some of the most common types of transformer bushings available include the condenser bushing design, oil and resin impregnated bushings and bushings that are used with open air insulation. The Acme transformer where the condenser core uses an oil to help conduct a charge, are best used with transformers that are going to be used with lower capacity functions in mind. Resin and open air types of bushing designs are made for transformers where the voltage might be higher or a little more varied, such as you would see in step up transformers. Each type is important and equally advantageous, depending on the type of transformer in which it is going to be used. The bushing is very important to the overall transformer because without it, conduction would not be possible. Any cracks or leaks in the overall unit are essentially filled by this insulator so that the conversion of voltage can take place. This improves overall performance of the transformer and protects the integrity of the circuit. Condensed and hollow cores might have a slight difference in the overall performance, but in general the constant supply of a charge and their ability to take variable voltage and conduct it evenly is superior from both. Bushings are necessary for the units to function properly on both high and low voltage transformers. While the bushings are not the most important part of the transformer, without them the transformer would not work at all. In order for charges to be completed and distributed evenly, the bushings have to be included and a specific type has to be used in each one. Air and gas are only able to be conducive with specific mediums, so once you determine where your transformer will be placed, you can make a decision on the type of conductor to use.

Eddy Current: An eddy current is the current is induced in little swirls ("eddies") on a large conductor (picture a sheet of copper). If a large conductive metal plate is moved through a magnetic field which intersects perpendicularly to the sheet, the magnetic field will induce small "rings" of current which will actually create internal magnetic fields opposing the change. This is why a large sheet of metal swung through a strong magnetic field will stop as it starts to move through the field. All of its kinetic energy will cause a major change in the magnetic field as it enters it which will induce rings of current which will oppose the surrounding magnetic field and slow the object down. In effect, the kinetic energy will go into driving small currents inside the metal which will give off that energy as heat as they push through the metal. If this isn't a satisfying answer, consider a simple wire loop being moved through a magnetic field. If you've learned anything about motors and/or generators, you will have probably learned that a current will be induced in this loop in a similar fashion. Likewise, a wire loop being pushed into a magnetic field will induce a current which will make it difficult to continue pushing. Likewise, it will resist being pulled out as well. An eddy current does the same thing, but instead of being forced in the path of the loop, it is allowed to travel in the "eddy" pattern that nature provides. To get rid of eddy currents, slits can be cut in metals so that large eddies cannot occur. This is why the metal cores of transformers are often assembled in small laminations with an insulator in between. This prevents AC energy from being lost to eddies generated within the magnetic core (which typically is also conductive because it is a metal like iron). Now, sometimes eddy currents are a good thing. Mentioned above, eddy currents help turn kinetic energy quickly into other forms of energy. Because of this, braking systems have been created which take advantage of it. Adding a magnetic field around a spinning piece of metal will cause eddy currents in that metal to create magnetic fields which will slow the object spinning down quickly as long as the magnetic is strong enough. Now, this can be taken one step farther and a circuit can be built which shuffles kinetic energy turned into electrical energy back into a battery. This is what many Hybrid cars do (and Dean Kamen's "Segway" not only when it is stopping but when it is going downhill).