4.10.6

Magnetic Flux Density

Test yourself

Magnetic Force

Magnetic force is the attractive or repulsive force felt by a charge when it is moving in a magnetic field.

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Magnetic force

  • Magnetic force can be calculated using the following equation:
    • Force = charge x velocity x field strength x sin(θ)sin({\theta})
    • F=qvBsin(θ)F=qvBsin({\theta})
      • Where θ{\theta} is the angle between the velocity and the field lines.
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Magnetic field strength

  • The magnetic field strength, B, is a measure of how dense the field lines are.
  • The units of magnetic field strength are Tesla (T).

Fleming's Left-Hand Rule

Fleming's left-hand rule is a useful way of telling which direction the field, the movement of the charge and the current flow in a magnetic field.

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Perpendicular directions

  • The field, the movement of the charge and the current have to be in perpendicular directions, so they must all be at 90o to each other.
  • If you hold your left hand as shown in the image:
    • Your thumb represents the direction of movement of the charge.
    • Your first finger represents the field.
    • Your middle finger represents the current.
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Method

  • The question will give you two out of three of these quantities.
  • You will need to line up those fingers then see which direction the last one is pointing in.
    • Remember field lines run from the north pole to the south.

Magnetic Force on a Wire Experiment

We can investigate how the force on a wire varies with flux density, current and length of wire in the magnetic field by using a top pan balance.

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Apparatus

  • Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram.
  • For this investigation, aim to make the angle of the wire with the field as close as possible to 90°.
  • Caution: the current should not exceed 4A (as the variable resistor is likely to smoke).
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Variables to investigate

  • Using the arrangement on the previous slide, we can investigate the magnitude of the force as a function of:
    • Flux density of the magnetic field.
    • Current in the wire.
    • Length of wire in the field.
    • Angle between wire and field lines.
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Formula for magnetic force

  • The formula for the magnetic force is:
    • F=BILsinθF=BIL\sin\theta
  • Where F is the force, B is the magnetic field strength, L is the length of wire in the field and θ is the angle between the field lines and the wire.
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Analysis example for current

  • Plot a graph of force against current.
  • The line of best fit should be a straight line that passes through the origin.
  • By comparison with “y = mx + c”, the gradient of the line should be equal to BLsinθBL\sin\theta.

Jump to other topics

1Space, Time & Motion

2The Particulate Nature of Matter

3Wave Behaviour

4Fields

4.1Circular Motion

4.2Newton's Law of Gravitation

4.3Fields

4.4Fields at Work

4.5Electric Fields

4.6Magnetic Effect of Electric Currents

4.7Heating Effect of Currents

4.8Electromagnetic Induction

4.9Power Generation & Transmission

4.10Capacitance

5Nuclear & Quantum Physics

6Measurements

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