Lecture 9 Magnetic Fields due to Currents Ch.

30
• Cartoon - Shows magnetic field around a long current carrying wire and a loop of wire
• Opening Demo - Iron filings showing B fields around wires with currents
• Warm-up problem
• Topics
– Magnetic field produced by a moving charge
– Magnetic fields produced by currents. Big Bite as an example.
– Using Biot-Savart Law to calculate magnetic fields produced by currents.
– Examples: Field at center of loop of wire, at center of circular arc of wire, at center of
segment of wire.
– Amperes’ Law : Analogous to Gauss’ L:aw in electrostatics, Useful in symmetric cases.
– Infinitely long straight wire of radius a. Find B outside and inside wire.
– Solenoid and Toroid Find B field.
– Forces between current carrying wires or parallel moving charges
• Demos
– Torque on a current loop(galvanometer)
– Iron filings showing B fields around wires with currents.
– Compass needle near current carrying wire
– Big Bite as an example of using a magnet as a research tool.
– Force between parallel wires carrying identical currents.
Reminders
Ungraded problem solutions are on website?
UVa email activated
Quiz tomorrow
Class in afternoon 1:00 PM
Grades are on WebAssign
 Magnetic Fields due to Currents
Torque on a coil in a magnetic field demo– left over from last time
• So far we have used permanent magnets as our source of magnetic
field. Historically this is how it started.
• In early decades of the last century, it was learned that moving charges
and electric currents produced magnetic fields.
• How do you find the Magnetic field due to a moving point charge?
• How do you find the Magnetic field due to a current?
– Biot-Savart Law – direct integration
– Ampere’s Law – uses symmetry
• Examples and Demos
 Torques on current loops
Electric motors operate by connecting a coil in a magnetic field to a current supply,
which produces a torque on the coil causing it to rotate.

F
B
a .
P i

i F
B
b

Above is a rectangular loop of wire of sidesa and b carrying current i.

B is in the plane of the loop and ^ to a.
Equal and opposite forces F = iaB are exerted on the sides a.
No forces exerted on b since i B

Since net force is zero, we can evaluate t (torque) about any point. Evaluate it
about P (cm). For N loops we mult by N
! = Fb sin "
! = NiabBsin " = NiABsin "
F = iaB
A=ab=area of loop
! = iabBsin "
Torque on a current loop
! = NiAB sin " n̂ !
µ = NiA = magnetic dipole moment B
! = µ B sin "
! =µ#B
Torque !!tends to rotate loop until plane is " to B
n̂ ( n̂ parallel to B).

Must reverse current using

commutator to keep loop
turning.

!
 http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/magnetic/motdc.html#c4

Split ring
commutator +

-
Electron moving with speed v in a crossed electric
and magnetic field in a cathode ray tube.
! ! !
F = qE + qv xB

y
Discovery of the electron by J.J. Thompson in 1897

1. E=0, B=0 Observe spot on screen

qEL2
2. Set E to some value and measure y the deflection y=
2mv 2
3. Now turn on B until spot returns to the original position
qE = qvB
E
v=
B
m B 2L2 This ratio was first measured by Thompson
4 Solve for = to be lighter than hydrogen by 1000
q 2yE

Show demo of CRT

Topic: Moving charges produce magnetic fields

q !
" v
r̂
r

! µ 0 v! ! rˆ
B= q 2 Determined fom
4" r Experiment
!
1. Magnitude of B is proportional to q, v, and 1/r2.
2. B is zero along the line of motion and proportional to sin at other
points.
3. The direction is given by the RHR rotating
! into r̂
v
4. Magnetic permeability

µ 0 = 4# "10 !7 N
A2
Example:
A point charge q = 1 mC (1x10-3C) moves in the x direction with
v = 108 m/s. It misses a mosquito by 1 mm. What is the B field
experienced by the mosquito?

108 m/s µ0 v
r̂ 90o
B= q 2
4! r

!7 N !3 1
B = 10 "10 C "10 8 m
"
A2 s
10 !6 m 2

B = 10 4 T
 Topic: A current produces a magnetic field
Recall the E field of a charge distribution
“Coulombs Law”
! kdq
dE = 2 r̂
r

!
To find the B field of a current distribution use: Biot-Savart Law

! µ0 ids! ! r̂
dB =
r̂ 4" r 2
This Law is found from experiment
 Find B field at center of loop of wire lying in a plane with radius R
and total current i flowing in it. i
!
µ 0 i dl # r̂ R
B="
4! r 2
!
! d l ! r̂ is a vector coming out of the paper The angle
dl between dl and r is constant and equal to 90
degrees.
" r̂ !
dl ! r̂ = dl sin " k̂
P
sin " = sin 90 = 1
!
dl ! r̂ = dl k̂
! ! µ0 idl µ 0 i µ0 i
B = ! dB = k̂ ! 2 = k̂ 2 ! dl = k̂ 2 2" R
4" R 4" R 4" R
Magnitude of B field at center of
loop. Direction is out of paper. µ0i
Magnitude is
! µ0i 2R
R k̂ B= k̂
i 2R Direction is k̂
 !
dl Integration Details
" r̂
P

! ! µ0 idl
B = ! dB = k̂ ! 2
4" R
lf
µ0 i µ0 i
= ! =
l
k̂ dl k̂ l lif
4" R li
2
4" R 2

µ0 i
= k̂(l f # li )
4" R 2
µ0 i
= k̂(2" R # 0)
4" R 2
µi
= 0 k̂
2R
Example
Loop of wire of radius R = 5 cm and current i = 10 A. What is B at the
center? Magnitude and direction
µ 0i
i B=
2R
10 A
B = 4# "10 !7 N
A22(.05m)
B = 1.2 "10 #6 !10 2 T
B = 1.2 !10 " 4 T = 1.2 Gauss Direction is out of
the page.
 What is the B field at the center of a segment or circular
arc of wire? !
µ 0 i dl # r̂ ! ! µ0 i
B=" B = ! dB = k̂ ! dl
4! r 2 4" R 2

! µ0 i
= k̂ S
dl 4" R 2

i
r̂
! Total length of arc is S.
dl " r̂
! where S is the arc length S = R"0
dl " r̂ "0 R
"0 is in radians (not degrees)
P ! µ0 i
! ! B= " 0 k̂
dl ! r = rdl sin " k̂ 4! R
sin " = sin 0 = 0 6.28 rad
! 0 = 100 deg=100 deg " = 100 " 0.0174 = 1.74 rad
360 deg

Why is the contribution to the B field at P equal to zero from

the straight section of wire?
 Suppose you had the following loop.
Find magnetic field at center of arc length

What is the magnitude and direction of B at the origin?

µ0 i
B= S
4! R 2
µ0 i
B= !
4" R 0
µ0 i i µ i
B= ( !0 # !0 ) = # 0 !0
4" R R/2 2" R
 Next topic: Ampere’s Law

Allows us to solve certain highly symmetric current problems for the

magnetic field as Gauss’ Law did in electrostatics.

! ! qenc Charge enclosed by surface

Gauss’s Law
"! E " dA = # 0
! ! Current enclosed by the path
Ampere’s Law is
" B ! dl = µ 0 Ic
 Example: Use Ampere’s Law to find B near a very long, straight
wire. B is independent of position along the wire and only depends
on the distance from the wire (symmetry).
!
i dl r i

! !
By symmetry B dl
! !
# B " dl = # Bdl = B # dl = B 2!r = µ 0i
2 " 10 !7 " 10
µ0 i Suppose i = 10 A B=
B= 10 !1
2! r R = 10 cm
B = 2 " 10 !5 T
µ 0 = 4# "10 !7 N
A2

Show Fe fillings around a straight wire with current,

current loop, and solenoid.
Rules for finding direction of B field from a current
flowing in a wire

µ 0i
B=
2!r
Force between two current carrying wires
Find the force due to the current element of the first wire and the magnetic
field of the second wire. Integrate over the length of both wires. This will give
the force between the two wires.

! " !
Fba = i b L x Ba
Force between two current carrying wires
Find the force due to the current element of the first wire and the magnetic
field of the second wire. Integrate over the length of both wires. This will give
the force between the two wires.

From experiment we find

iaib µ 0
Fba = L
2!d
Fba i a i b µ 0
=
L 2!d
µ 0i a (Given by Ampere’s Law)
Ba =
2!d ! "
! " ! L!B and directed towards
Fba = i b L x Ba wire a (wires are attracted).
µ 0i a
= i bL Suppose one of the currents is
2!d
! direction? What
in the opposite
direction is Fba ?
Example: Find magnetic field inside a long, thick wire of radius a

2!r
! !
# B " dl = # Bdl = B # dl = B 2!r
0
B2!r = u0Ic
IC = current enclosed by the circle whose radius is r
!r 2 r2
IC = 2 i = 2 i
!a a
r2 1 µ 0ir
B = µ0 2 i B= Example: Find field inside a
a 2!r 2!a 2 solenoid. See next slide.
Solenoid

B = µ0 ni
n is the number of turns per meter
 !
dl
d c
! !
dl dl
B
a ! b
dl

First evaluate the right side, it’s easy

! !
" B ! dl = µ 0 IC
IC is the total current enclosed by the path

Ic = nhi
The number of loops of current; h is the length of
one side.

Right side = µ0 nhi

 !
dl
d c
! !
dl dl
B
a ! b
dl

Evaluate left side:

! ! b c d a

! B " dl = ! B " dl + ! B " dl + ! B " dl + ! B " dl

a b c d

= Bh + 0 + 0 + 0
Bh = µ0 nhi
B = µ0 ni n = the number of loops or turns per meter
Toroid ! !
! B " dl = µ 0 IC
! Bdl = µ 0 Ni
B 2!r = µ 0 Ni
µ 0 Ni N is the total
B=
2!r number of turns

a<r<b

a ! !
B ! dl = Bdl
! cos 0o = 1
b dl
Tokamak Toroid at Princeton
I = 73,000 Amps for 3 secs
B = 5.2 T
Magnetic dipole inverse cube law
! µ0 µ"
z B=
2! z 3
P .

Magnetic field lines for a bar magnet

and a current loop are similar