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The third most common flowmeter (behind differential pressure and positive displacement flow meters) is the magnetic flow meter, also technically an electromagnetic flow meter or more commonly just called a mag meter. A magnetic field is applied to the metering tube, which results in a potential difference proportional to the flow velocity perpendicular to the flux lines. The physical principle at work is electromagnetic induction. The magnetic flow meter requires a conducting fluid, for example, water that contains ions, and an electrical insulating pipe surface, for example, a rubber-lined steel tube.
If the magnetic field direction were constant, electrochemical and other effects at the electrodes would make the potential difference difficult to distinguish from the fluid flow induced potential difference. To mitigate this in modern magnetic flowmeters, the magnetic field is constantly reversed, cancelling out the electrochemical potential difference, which does not change direction with the magnetic field. This however prevents the use of permanent magnets for magnetic flowmeters.