Topic6 MagneticFields

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. 2. 3. 4.

Describe magnetic fields around permanent magnets and between like and unlike poles. Demonstrate the concept of magnetic fields by sprinkling iron filings to observe the imaginary magnetic field lines around magnets; Describe the magnetic field around a current-carrying conductor, loop of conductor and solenoid; Calculate the magnitude and direction of the magnetic force on a moving charge in a magnetic field and on a current-carrying conductor Define and apply Biot-Savarts Law and Amperes Law; and Explain in simple terms the origin of magnetism in materials.

5. 6.

INTRODUCTION

In Topic 1, we learned that two electric charges at rest exert electrostatic forces on each other according to Coulombs law. This Coulombic force depends on the value of the charges and also the distance between them. When the charges are in motion, there are magnetic forces between the moving charges in addition to the electric forces between them. The magnetic force depends on the velocity, v, of the charge, and the charge, Q.

6.1
6.1.1

MAGNETIC FIELD LINES

Bar Magnets

Surrounding any magnet is a magnetic field. This magnetic field represents the effect of the magnet on its surroundings.

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The presence of a magnetic field around a bar magnet can be shown by sprinkling iron filings around the magnet. First, put a bar magnet on a sheet of white paper. Then, sprinkle some iron filings around the magnet. You will observe that the iron filings arrange themselves along lines that connect the two magnetic poles. Each long, thin iron filing becomes a small magnet by induction, and aligns itself along what is called the magnetic field line. The magnetic field lines form closed loops that leave the N-pole of the bar magnet and enter the S-pole as shown in Figure. 6.1.

Figure 6.1: Magnetic field lines outside a bar magnets are closed loops leaving the N-pole of the bar magnet and entering the S-pole.

A simulation of this can be found here: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/magneticlines/index.html Therefore, a magnetic field can be visualised as magnetic lines of force, which are actually imaginary lines. These lines of force never intersect each other. The lines form continuous closed loops, originating from the N-pole and terminating at the S-pole. The tangent at any point on the on the loop is the direction of the magnetic field at that point. The lines are parallel, being from S-pole to N-pole inside the bar magnet. In addition, the field is stronger in regions where the field lines are closer and weaker when the they are far further apart. When we place two magnets near each other we find that: Unlike magnetic poles attract each other, and like magnetic poles repel each other. How would the magnetic field lines look like when two poles are placed opposite one another? A simulation of this situation can be found here: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/magneticlines2/index.html

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SELF-CHECK 6.1 Apart from magnitude, how is Coulombic force different from magnetic force?

6.1.2

Current-carrying wire

The magnetic field around a current-carrying wire can easily be shown by placing a wire conductor vertically through a horizontal piece of white cardboard, and then sprinkling iron filings on the cardboard. When a current is applied to the conductor, tap the cardboard. You will notice that the iron filings form a pattern of concentric circles around the conductor as shown in Fig. 6.2

Figure 6.2: The magnetic field lines around a long, straight current carrying conductor

But what produces this magnetic field in the first place? We must thank a Danish school teacher named Hans Christian Oersted for providing us with the answer! Oersted discovered that it was the electric current that created the magnetic field. We can determine the direction of the field by applying the right hand grip rule. Grasp the wire with your right hand such that your thumb points in the direction of the current. The direction of the magnetic field generated by the current is the same as the direction of the fingers.

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Figure 6.3: The Right-Hand Grip Rule

6.1.3

Current-carrying loop of wire

Figure 6.4 (a) shows the magnetic field lines around a current-carrying loop of wire.

Figure 6.4 (a): Magnetic field lines around a current-carrying loop of wire

6.1.4

Magnetic field lines in a plane through the center of a solenoid

A solenoid is made by winding a long wire into a tight coil with many circular coils as shown in. If the radius of the loops is very small compared to the length L of the solenoid, a large magnetic field is produced parallel to the axis of the solenoid. Outside the solenoid the field is almost zero. Inside the solenoid the fields from individual coils add together to form a very strong field along the centre of the solenoid. See Figure 6.4(b).

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Figure 6.4 (b): Magnetic field lines inside a solenoid, which consists of current-carrying loops of wire

6.2

MAGNETIC FIELDS

A distribution of electric charges at rest creates an electric field, E, in the surrounding space, where the field exerts a force F = qE on any other charge q that is present in the field. Like the electric field, the magnetic field is also a vector quantity. A moving electric charge or a current creates a magnetic field B in the surrounding space, in addition to its electric field. This field exerts a force on any moving charge or current that is present in the field. The unit of magnetic field is the Tesla T.

6.3

THE MAGNETIC FORCE

A stationary electric charge in a magnetic field will experience no magnetic force. But if the charge is moving in a magnetic field, then it will experience a magnetic force. From experiment, it is found that the the magnitude of this force F is given by

F = qvBsin
This implies that the force depends on the
(i) (ii)

(6.1)

The magnitude, q, of the moving charge, The speed, v, of the charge,

(iii) The magnitude, B, of the magnetic field, and (iv) TThe angle between the magnetic field and the velocity v.

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The force on the charge is maximum when v is perpendicular to B. SELF-CHECK 6.2 A charged particle moves through a region of space and does not experience any magnetic force. Does this mean that the magnetic field is zero? Explain. Furthermore, the direction of the force is always perpendicular to the direction of the velocity and the magnetic field. This suggests that a cross product is involved. We can define the magnetic force magnetic, F, to be a vector quantity, such that:

F = qv B

(6.2)

Figure 6.5(a): The vector cross product for the magnetic force

To find the direction of the force, we use the right-hand rule. Let the four fingers of your right hand curl from the first vector v to the second vector B. Your thumb will then point in the direction of the magnetic force F.

Figure 6.5(b): The right-hand rule

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If q is a positive charge then this is the direction of F. If q is negative, your thumb points opposite to the direction of F. Example 6.1 A beam of protons moves at the velocity of 3.0 10 5 m/s through a uniform magnetic field of 1.0 T. If the angle between the velocity and the magnetic field is 30o, find the magnitude of the force exerted on each particle. Solution Solving Equation 6.1 for the magnetic force, we have F = qvBsin = (1.60 10-19 C)(3.0 105 m / s)(1.0 T)(sin30o ) = 2.4 10-14 N. Example 6.2 An electron in a typical home television camera tube moves with speed v = 1.0 106 m/s in a magnetic field of magnitude B = 80 mT. (a) (b) Determine the magnitude of the maximum magnetic force that can act on the electron in the field At one point, the force on the electron is 5 1015 N. What is the angle between v and B at this point?

Solution (a) The force on the electron is a maximum only when v is perpendicular to B, i.e., when = 900 . The magnitude can then be found from Equation 6.1:
F = qvBsin = 1.60 1019 1.0 106 1.0 sin90o = 1.28 1014 N (b) F = 510-15 N, v = 1106 m / s ,B = 80mT = 0.08T sin = F 510-15 = = 0.39 qvB 1.6 10 19 1106 0.08

= sin 1 ( 0.39 ) = 230

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EXERCISE 6.1
An ion (q = +3e) enters a magnetic field of 1 mT at a velocity of 1.0 106 m/s perpendicular to the field. Determine the force acting on the ion.

6.4

MOTION OF A CHARGE IN MAGNETIC FIELD

Lets now consider the case of charged particle q moving in a uniform magnetic field B so that the direction of the particles velocity v is always perpendicular to the field. As a result, the charged particle moves in a circle of radius r and constant speed v in a plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. Thus the magnetic force F = qvB is in the radial direction and its magnitude is equal to the centripetal force F = mv 2 /r . From Newtons second law, we find that: mv 2 F = qvB = r where m is the mass of the particle. Solving equation 6.3 for the radius r of the circular path, we find: mv r= qB The angular frequency of the rotating charged particle is: v qB = = r m

(6.3)

(6.4)

(6.5)

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Figure 6.6: Circular motion of a charge in a constant magnetic field. Notice that the magnetic field is acting into the plane of the page

SELF-CHECK 6.3 As described above, a charged particle that is initially moving perpendicular to the magnetic field will travel in a circular path, with the plane of the circle being perpendicular to the direction of the field. What about a particle that is initially moving at some angle between parallel and perpendicular to the field? Describe the path that this particle will take. Example 6.3 In an experiment, electrons are accelerated from rest through a potential difference 100 V in a magnetic field. The beam associated with the electrons is measured to have a radius of 5.0 cm. Calculate the magnitude of the magnetic field and the angular frequency of the electrons. Solution (a) We must calculate the speed of the electrons using their kinetic energy and potential energy;
1 2 mv = eV 2

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v=

2eV = m

2(1.602 10-19 C)(100 V) = 5.93106 m/s 9.1110n31 kg

Solving equation (6.4) for the magnetic field, we have

B= mv (9.1110-31 kg)(5.93106 m/s) = = 4.22 10-4 T (1.602 10-19 C)(0.08 m) er v 5.93106 m/s = = 7.45107 rad/s. r 0.08 m

(b)

The angular frequency =

EXERCISE 6.2
1. Electrons are moving with a speed of 5 107 m/s at right angles to a magnetic field of magnitude 0.5T. (a) (b) 2. What is the magnetic force on the electrons? What is the radius of the circle in which the electrons move?

Electrons are accelerated from rest through a p.d of 800V. They then move perpendicularly to magnetic field of 3mT. Find the radius of the orbit.

6.5

THE BIOT-SAVART LAW

Figure 6.7: Magnetic field at point P produced by a current-carrying wire

Figure 6.7 shows a wire of arbitrary shape carrying current I. The current element Ids shown in this figure produces a magnetic field dB at P. Let r be the distance from the current element to P.

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The magnitude of the field dB produced at a point P a distance r from the currentlength element Ids is given by
dB = 0 Idssin 4 r 2

(6.6)

where is the angle between the directions of ds and r. 0 is called the permeability of free space or the permeability constant. The value of 0 is 4 107 H/m. This equation is called the Biot-Savart law. The magnetic field is found to be perpendicular to the plane containing r and ds so that we may write Biot-Savarts law as

dB =

0 I ds r 2 4 r

(6.7)

is a unit vector that points toward P. The direction of dB, found using the where r right hand rule, points into the plane of the page .
To find the total magnetic field field at P due to the whole wire, we must integrate over the entire wire. However, this can be quite lengthy. As a result, we will quote some of the results here without deriving them: (a) The magnetic field a distance r from a long straight wire carrying a current I: I (6.8) B= 0 2 r The magnetic field qt the center of a plane circular coil, radius r of N turns and carrying current I

(b)

B=
(c)

0 NI
2r

(6.9)

The magnetic field at the centre of a long solenoid of N turns and length l carrying a current I

B=

0 NI
l

(6.10)

The expression n =

N is known as the number of turns per meter. We may l rewrite Equation (6.10) as B = 0 nI

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Example 6.4
The figure below shows two long wires carrying currents of magnitude 10A in the direction indicated by the arrows. What is the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field at P?

Figure 6.8

Solution:
Consider wire 1. The magnitude of the magnetic field at P due to this wire is 0 I 4107 10 = = 4 105 = 40T . From the right hand rule, the B1 = 2r 2 0.05 direction of the magnetic field is into the paper, Consider wire 2 now. The magnitude of the magnetic field at P due to this I 4107 10 = 4 105 = 40T . The direction is also wire is B1 = 0 = 2r 2 0.05 Therefore, the magnitude of the resultant is B = B1 + B2 = 80T . The direction of the resultant magnetic field at P is also .

Example 6.5
A solenoid is 1 m long and consists of 100 turns of wire. At its center, the solenoid produces a magnetic field of strength 4 mT. Find the current in the coil. Given that l = 1m,N = 100 ,B = 4mT Bl 4 103 1 = = 31.8 A From Equation (7.10 ): i = 0 N 4 107 100

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EXERCISE 6.3
1. Calculate the magnetic field: (i) 2 cm from a long straight wire carrying a current of 1A. (ii) at the center of a short coil of 100 turns and 10 cm in diameter carrying a current of 2A Two very long and parallel wires, A and B, are 10cm apart and carry currents of 40 and 20A respectively in opposite directions. Calculate the magnitude magnetic field at a point P 8cm from A and 18cm from B.

2.

6.6

AMPERES LAW

Amperes law states that the line integral B.ds around any closed path of a wire carrying current I is equal to 0 I

B.ds = B ds cos =

0I

(6.11)

where is the angle between the magnetic field B formed and the path element ds around the wire. Figure 6.9 shows the magnetic field formed around a straight current-carrying wire.

Figure 6.9: A concentric circle magnetic field (line) produced by a straight current-carrying current wire.

Using Amperes law we can calculate the magnetic field around a long (infinite) straight wire carrying a current I and at a perpendicular distance r from the wire. We have already seen from Figure 6.2 that the magnetic field forms a pattern of concentric circles around a wire. If we choose a circular loop of radius r with wire at the center, then B and ds are in the same direction. Also the magnitude of B is also constant around the loop. So

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B ds = B (2r ) = 0 I
B= 0I 2r

6.7

MAGNETISM

You may wonder how it is possible for a bar magnet to create a magnetic field when it carries no current. What then is the source of the magnetism produced by the bar magnet? Magnetism originates in the atom itself. In fact, the magnetic properties of substances like the bar of magnet is due to the motion of electrons in atoms. The circular motion of the electrons around the nucleus of the atom produces a magnetic moment at the center of the atom, mo . In addition to orbiting around the nucleus each electron also spins on its own axis while it moves along its orbit. This movement creates another dipole moment, called the spin moment, ms. See Figure 6.10.

Figure 6.10: Dipole moments created by an electron in motion

In most atoms, the magnetic moment is zero. This is because the electrons usually pair up with their spins in opposite directions, so that the magnetic moments arising from the spin and orbital motion cancel out each other. However, in nature there are a small number of elements whose magnetic moments dont cancel out one another. We call such elements ferromagnetic elements. Examples of ferromagnetic materials include iron, nickel and cobalt. In ferromagnetic materials, a strong interaction exists between neighbouring spins and atoms. As a result of this interaction, a large cluster of atoms called magnetic domains are created. In an unmagnetised ferromagnetic material, the domains are aligned randomly with respect to one another as shown in Figure 6.11 (a).

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However, when we apply an external magnetic field to this material, the domains start to align with one another. See Figure 6.11(b). Notice that within each domain, nearly all the atomic magnetic moments are parallel. In the presence of the external magnetic field, the domains that are aligned in the direction of the magnetic tend to grow while those that are aligned in other directions began to shrink. As a result, the material becomes magnetised.

Figure 6.11: (a) Unmagnetised and (b) magnetised domains in a ferromagnetic material

In hard magnetic materials, the domains maintain their alignment even after we remove the external magnetic field. This results in a permanent magnet. Alloys of iron, cobalt and nickel can become permanent magnets such that they retain their magnetism for a long time. However, they lose their magnetism when they are heated above a certain temperature, called the Curie temperature. The Curie temperature for iron is about 770C. On the other hand, in soft magnetic materials like iron, once the external field is removed, the material quickly returns to its unmagnetised state. SELF-CHECK 6.4 When we compare electricity and magnetism, we can easily find similarities between them. For example, with electricity, there are positive and negative charges. With magnetism, there are north and south poles. Like charges repel, while unlike charges attract. Like poles repel, while unlike poles attract. However, you can separate positive and negative charges, but you cannot isolate magnetic north and south poles. Why is this so?

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Magnetic fields can be represented by magnetic field lines of force, which are imaginary lines in space. These lines never intersect each other and are continuous closed loops, being from the N-pole to the S-pole of the bar magnet. A magnetic field exerts a force on a moving charge. The direction of the force is perpendicular to both the magnetic field and the velocity of the charged particle. The magnitude of the force is given by F = qvBsin . The motion of charged particles in magnetic fields is in circular path and can be analysed using the magnetic force expression with Newtons second law of motion. The magnetic properties of substances is due to the motion of electrons in atoms. The Biot-Savart law can be used to find the magnetic field created a conductor carrying a current. Amperes law provides an alternative formulation to find magnetic field created around a current-carrying conductor.

Amperes law Biot-savart law Magnetic field

Magnetic force Magnetism

1.

Negative ions of charge 2e, accelerated through a pd of 100V, are injected into a uniform magnetic field perpendicular to its direction. They then travel in a circular orbit of diameter 8cm. (a) (b) What is the magnitude of the magnetic field? What is the angular frequency of their motion?

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2.

The particle shown below is a proton moving in the direction indicated. Predict the direction of the force on it due to the magnetic field B.

1. The figure below shows two long wires carrying currents of magnitude 10A in the direction indicated by the arrows. What is the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field at Q?

2.

In the equation F = qv B , (i) (ii) Which pairs of vectors are always perpendicular to each other? Which pair may have an angle between them?