Topic7 MagneticForceon

CurrentCarrying Conductors

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to: 1. Calculate the magnitude and direction of the magnetic force on a current carrying conductor; 2. Describe the torque on a current loop placed in a uniform magnetic field and the torque of a solenoid consisting of N loops close together; 3. Explain the operation of a d.c. motor and a galvanometer; 4. Describe the phenomenon of the Hall effect; 5. Determine the force between two straight, parallel, current-carrying conductors; and 6. Define the ampere.

INTRODUCTION

One of the most important events that revolutionized industry was the invention of the electric motor. The other was the internal combustion engine. What makes an electric motor work? It is just simply the magnetic force that acts on a currentcarrying loop of wire in the presence of a magnetic field. We know that a magnetic force is exerted on a single charged particle when it moves through a magnetic field. The current in a wire represents a collection of many charged particles in motion, and the conductor as whole experiences a force distributed along the length. In this topic we will focus our thought to the magnetic forces created on a conductor carrying a current when it is placed in a magnetic field.

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7.1

MAGNETIC FORCE ON CURRENTCARRYING CONDUCTOR

In Topic 6 we have already learned that when charged particles move in a magnetic field, the magnetic field exerts a sideway force on them. The magnitude of the force is F =qvB if the velocity of the charged particles v is perpendicular to the magnetic field B. If the charged particles are free electrons moving in a wire, the force must be transmitted to the wire itself because the conduction electrons cannot escape sideways out of the wire. If n free electrons per unit volume move in a length l of the wire with cross section area A, the total force on the moving electrons in this segment has a magnitude of:

F = (nAl)(evB) = (nev) A(lB)

(7.1)

Taking the current density to be J = nev , the product JA is the total current I carrying by the wire. The total magnetic force on a current-carrying conductor can then be written as:

F = JA(lB) = (I)(lB)

(7.2)

The expression for the magnetic force, Equation (7.2), is proportional to the length of the wire, the current and the magnetic field of perpendicular component to the wire. If the magnetic field is not perpendicular to the wire, Equation 7.2 can be written as:
F = IlBsin

(7.3)

where is the angle between the magnetic field and the wire. In general, the magnetic force on current-carrying conductor can be expressed as a vector cross product:

F = I (l B)

(7.3a)

Note that the direction of l is the same as the current I. The magnetic force on the conductor is a maximum when l is perpendicular to B. The maximum value is Ilb. The direction of F is obtained by using the right hand rule discussed in Topic 6. Figure 7.1 shows the magnetic force on a current-carrying conductor placed perpendicular to a magnetic field.

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Figure 7.1: Magnetic force on a current-carrying conductor placed perpendicular to a magnetic field B. The magnetic field acts into the plane of the paper

A short video of an experiment that demonstrates the magnetic force on a current carrying conductor is shown here: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~vawter/PhysicsNet/QTMovies/MagneticField/Wire_in_ B-FieldMain.html Example 7.1 A straight, horizontal wire carries a current 7.0 A is placed in a magnetic field. The mass per unit length of the wire is 11.65 g/m. What are the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field needed to suspend the wire such that it balances the gravitational force on it? Solution
Given : current I = 7A, g = 9.8m / s 2 , m = 11.65g / m = 11.6510-3 kg / m l According to the right-hand rule, the magnetic field B must point westward to give the required upward magnetic force to balance the weight as shown in the diagram below: mass per unit length =

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Thus for the magnetic field FB to balance the gravitational force mg, we must require that: FB = I lB = mg
mg (m/l)g (11.6510-3 kg/m)(9.8 m/s 2 ) B= = = = 1.6 10-2 T Il I 7.0 A

EXERCISE 7.1
A wire of length 1m carrying a current of 10 A is placed in a magnetic field B of magnitude 10T at an angle of 30. Find the magnetic force on the wire.

SELF-CHECK 7.1
Verify that the direction of the magnetic force in Figure 7.1 is upward.

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7.2

THE TORQUE ON A CURRENT LOOP

Figure 7.2 shows a rectangular loop of wire, carrying a current I. Let the loop have a width of b and a length of a.

Figure 7.2: Magnetic torque on a current-carrying coil

Consider the situation with plane of the loop parallel to the field direction, as shown below in Figure 7.3(a): Aerial View Side View

Figure 7.3(a) and (b): Aerial view and side view of the coil with its plane parallel to the magnetic field. The axis of rotation is represented by the broken lines in (a).

Using the right hand- rule the direction of the force on the right side ef of the loop of length a, is out of the paper. The magnitude of the force is F = IaB . The force on the left side cd of the loop is into the paper and also with magnitude of F = IaB . Therefore the total force on the loop is zero

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Thus, the coil will eventually stop and then turn in the opposite direction. And so the motion will continue. Although the magnetic force on the current loop in a uniform magnetic field is zero, the net torque is not zero. As you may recall from your SBPH 2103 course, the torque is able to rotate an object about a fixed axis. This net torque tends to make the loop rotate about an axis passing through the center of the loop with the side ef coming up and the side cd moving into the paper. The coil will stop momentarily when its plane is perpendicular to the magnetic field. However, once the coil has passed through this position, the direction of the net torque is reversed and so the motion will continue. The magnitude of the torque acting is given by:

= IABsin

(7.4)

where A=ab=the area of the loop and is the angle made by the plane of the coil with the magnetic field B. We can generalize the torque of a coil consisting of N loops close together by multiplying the torque in Equation 7.4 by a factor of N. This type of coil arrangement is known as a solenoid, a helical winding of wire. Solenoids, which carry electric current, are also sources of magnetic field. The torque on a solenoid in a magnetic field is simply
= IABsin

ACTIVITY 7.1
Investigate the following physlet (physics applet) modelling the rotation of the current-carrying loop in a magnetic field. The physlet was written by Dr. Scott of Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan. You can change the strength and direction of the magnetic field, the magnitude and direction of the current, and the intial angle (the angle that the magnetic moment makes with the Magnetic field). Notice how the direction/magnitude of the current, direction/magnitude of the magnetic field and the size of the angle between the magnetic moment (area vector) affect the loop's rotation. http://qbx6.ltu.edu/s_schneider/physlets/main/bfield_torque.shtml

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ACTIVITY 7.2 1 (a) (b) 2. Use the right hand rule to verify the directions of the force acting on sides cd and ef of the loop. Show that the force acting on the other two sides is zero.

Discuss below questions in group. (a) When is the torque acting on the loop a maximum? (b) Why does the the coil l stop momentarily when its plane is perpendicular to the magnetic field. SELF-CHECK 7.2 A very long straight wire carrying a current I is arranged such that it is on the same plane as a rectangular loop of sides a and b carrying a current i as shown. If the nearer parallel side of the loop is at distance r from the straight wire, what is the magnitude of the net magnetic force on the loop?

7.3
7.3.1

APPLICATIONS OF THE TORQUE

The galvanometer

A galvanometer is a device to measure very small currents and it is used in many voltmeters and ammeters. It makes use of a magnetic torque on a current-carrying coil. When this coil is placed in a magnetic field having a direction perpendicular to the coil, each side of the loop has a current in the opposite direction. As a result, one side of the loop has a magnetic force in a direction opposite to the other, which makes the loop rotate. However, there is a restoring force produced by a spring to oppose the rotation. The torque on the spring is proportional to the rotation angle of the coil , or

= k = NIBA

(7.5)

where k is the torsional constant of the spring. Thus, the angle of the galvanometer pointer is proportional to the current passing through the coil.

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NBA I k

(7.6)

7.3.2

The DC Motor

The DC motor is an electric motor in which a magnetic torque acts on a currentcarrying coil to convert dc electric current to mechanical energy. The moving part of the motor consists of several rotating loops of wire known as a rotor, which is free to rotate about an axis. When a current is applied to the rotor, the loops turn until they reach the vertical position and stop momentarily before rotating again. For the loops to rotate 360o the current running through the loops must reverse as the loops reach the vertical position. The end of the rotor wires is attached to a split-ring commutator (brush) as shown in Figure 7.4. The commutator is used to reverse the current direction of the loop. As a result, the magnetic force on each side of the loops is reversed and the rotor rotates continuously. The total force acting on the rotor is proportional to NBIl, where N is the total number of loops and l is the length of wire in each loop.

Figure 7.4: A simple d.c. motor

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7.4

THE HALL EFFECT

When a flat-strip conductor carrying an electric current is placed in a magnetic field, an electric field is generated which has a direction perpendicular to the direction of the current and magnetic field. This phenomenon is known as the Hall effect. The reason why this effect occurs in a conductor is due to the presence of free electrons, which deflects and accumulates to one side of the conductor by the magnetic forces and as a result an electric field is generated between these charges. This electric field causes a transverse potential difference, between the ends of the conductor, called the Hall voltage or the Hall emf. To understand the Hall effect, lets consider what happens when a current I is passed through a metal slab at right angles to a magnetic field B. See Figure 7.5. The flow of the electrons is in the opposite direction to the current. Due to the magnetic field, the electrons experience a magnetic force of magnitude Fm = Bqv that acts to the left and v is the velocity of the electrons. As a result, all the electrons accumulate along the side CD of the metal. Thus CD becomes negatively charged with respect to AB. This also creates an electric field E, acting to the left.

Figure 7.5: The Hall Effect

A Hall potential difference VH is associated with the electric field E across the metal strip of width d, or

VH = Ed

` .7)

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The electric force on each electron is then FE = eE =

eVH d The flow of electrons towards CD continues until the magnetic force on the electrons is balanced by the electric force that acts to the right. Then we have:
FE = Fm eVH = evB d
The Hall potential difference VH is then, (7.8)

VH = vBd

(7.9)

The Hall effect has an important application in the electronics industry. It is used to determine the sign of the charge carrier in a semi-conductor. In a semiconductor, charge carriers can be electrons or holes (positive charges) The sign of the charges is determined by the polarity of the Hall emf. This is the way to determine the type of majority charged carriers in a semiconductor. The Hall effect can also be used to calculate the number of charge carriers per unit volume in a metal slab, n. It can be shown that:

n=

BI VH et

(7.10)

Example 7.2
A conductor slab of thickness d = 2.0 mm is placed in a uniform y-direction magnetic field B = 0.50 T. A current of I = 80-A is applied in the x-direction to produce the Hall emf, VH of magnitude 0.75V. Determine n, the concentration of free electrons in the conductor.

Solution
From Eq 7.10, n =

BI = 1.67 1029 / m3 VH et

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7.5

THE FORCE BETWEEN PARALLEL CONDUCTORS

When two very long current-carrying conductors are close to each other, each conductor will lie in the magnetic field set up by the other. As a result, each conductor will experience a magnetic force, which in turns interacts with the magnetic force of the other conductor. Conductors attract each other when the currents are in the same direction. Conversely, they repel each other when the currents are in opposite directions. Figure 7.6 shows segments of two long, straight parallel conductors separated by a distance r and carrying current I1 and I2.

Figure 7.6: Forces on very long current-carrying conductors, (a) attractive forces when the currents are in the same direction and (b) repulsive forces when the currents are in the opposite direction.

Consider Figure 7.6(a): The first conductor carrying current I1 produces a magnetic field B1 at the second conductor:

B1 =

0 I1 2 r

(7.11)

This magnetic field exerts a magnetic force on the second conductor of length L. The magnitude of the force is:
F = I 2 LB1 = 0 I1 I 2 L 2 r

(7.12)

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The force per unit length F/L depends only on the currents of the conductors and the distance between them and is given by
F1 = 0 I1 I 2 2r

(7.13)

This depends only on the currents of the conductors and the distance between them. Likewise, a magnetic force is also exerted on the first conductor of length L I due to a magnetic field B2 = 0 2 at the first conductor. The magnitude of the 2r magnetic force is given by Equation (7.12). You can show that the force per unit length F/L on the first conductor is similar to what we obtained earlier in Equation (7.13). The attraction or repulsion between two straight, parallel, current-carrying conductors is used to define the SI unit of the ampere. One ampere is defined as the constant current which flowing in two infinitely long, straight parallel conductors, placed in vacuum one meter apart, produces between them a force of exactly 2 10 7 N per meter of their length. SELF-CHECK 7.3 Two straight wires are parallel to each other and carry different currents in the same direction. Do they attract or repel each other? How do the magnitudes of these forces on each wire compare? Example 7.3 A short wire P of length L=0.01 m carrying a current of 1A is placed parallel to another long wire Q carrying a current of 3A as shown below:

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If the 2 wires are 0.1 m apart, find (a) (b) the magnitude of the magnetic field at P due to the current in wire Q the magnetic force on P

Solution
(a) The magnitude of the magnetic field at P due to the current in wire Q is found using Equation 7.11:

0 I1 4 10-7 3 BP = = = 6 10-6 T = 60T 2r 2 0.1

(b) From Eq. 7.12, the magnetic force on P is

0 I1 I 2 L 4 10-7 1 3 0.01 = 6 10-6 N = 60N = 2 r 2 0.1

The magnetic force on a current-conducting conductor is F = I l B , when the magnetic field is perpendicular to the conductor, and is F = I (l B) = IlBsin if the magnetic field is not perpendicular to the conductor. The magnetic torque on the current-carrying loop in a uniform magnetic field is = IABsin and the torque of a solenoid consisting of N loops close together is = NIABsin . DC motor, which utilizes a magnetic torque that acts on a current-carrying coil to convert dc electric current to mechanical energy. An electric field E is generated when a flat-strip conductor carrying an electric current is placed in a magnetic field. The direction of the field is perpendicular to the direction of the current and magnetic field. The potential difference causes by this field is known as the Hall voltage or the Hall emf. The force per unit length between two straight, parallel, current-carrying II conductors a distance r between them is F/L = 0 1 2 . The forces are 2 r attractive when the currents are in the same direction and they are repulsive when the direction of the current is opposite.

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Conductor Hall effect

Magnetic force Torque

1.

A straight, horizontal wire is placed in a magnetic field of 46 mT. If the mass per unit length of the wire is 4.7 g/m, what is the current needed to pass through the wire in order to suspend the wire from the gravitational force acting on it? A device consists of 10 loops of coil is placed perpendicular to a magnetic field of 0.2 T. The cross-sectional area of the coil is1.8 cm2 and the torsional constant of the spring is 2.0 10 8 N m/rad. What is the current needed to allow the pointer of the device to have the maximum meter reading?

2.

1.

A copper of 2.0 mm thick is placed in a uniform magnetic field of 0. 40 T. When a 75-A current is applied to the conductor, it produces the Hall emf of 0.8 V. Calculate the number of free electrons in the conductor. Two long, straight parallel wires separated by a distance of 2.0 cm experience a repulsive force per length of 6.0 10 4 N/m. If one of the wires carries a current of 12.0 A, what is the current and its direction of the other wire?

2.