An apparatus and process are provided for controlling the heating or
melting of an electrically conductive material. Power is selectively
directed between coil sections surrounding different zones of the
material by changing the output frequency of the power supply to the coil
sections. Coil sections include at least one active coil section, which
is connected to the output of the power supply, and at least one passive
coil section, which is not connected to the power supply, but is
connected in parallel with a tuning capacitor so that the at least one
passive coil section operates at a resonant frequency and the output
frequency of the power supply is changed so that the induced power in the
at least one passive coil section changes as the frequency is changed.