FERRARIS SENSOR

A Ferraris sensor for measuring an acceleration of a moving body along a direction. The sensor includes a flat eddy current body and a scanning head arranged on one side of the eddy current body. The scanning head includes N magnets that generate an external magnetic field that extends approximately perpendicular to a surface of the eddy current body, wherein N=1, 2, 3, . . . and M detector coils, wherein M=1, 2, 3, 4, . . . and each detector coil includes an axis and detects changes of an interior magnetic field within the N magnets that are caused by an acceleration of the eddy current body and a resulting change in eddy currents. The axis is approximately perpendicular with respect to the surface of the eddy current body, each detector coil lacks a ferromagnetic core and the N magnets and the M detector coils are arranged alternatingly next to each other in a direction that the acceleration is to be measured.