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An electric arc furnace (EAF) is a furnace that heats material by means of an electric arc.
Industrial arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one-tonne capacity (used in foundries for producing cast iron products) up to about 400-tonne units used for secondary steelmaking. Arc furnaces used in research laboratories and by dentists may have a capacity of only a few dozen grams. Industrial electric arc furnace temperatures can reach 1,800 °C (3,300 °F), while laboratory units can exceed 3,000 °C (5,400 °F).
In electric arc furnaces, the charge material (the material entered into the furnace for heating, not to be confused with electric charge) is directly exposed to an electric arc, and the current from the electrode terminals passes through the charge material. Arc furnaces differ from induction furnaces, in which the charge is heated instead by eddy currents.