SOLENOID

A solenoid is a type of electromagnet, the purpose of which is to

generate a controlled magnetic field through a coil wound into a
tightly packed helix. The term was invented in 1823 by André-
Marie Ampère to designate a helical coil.
In the study of electromagnetism, a solenoid is a coil whose
length is substantially greater than its diameter.[4] The coil can be
arranged to produce a uniform magnetic field in a volume of
space when an electric current is passed through it. A solenoid is
an electromagnet, the purpose of which is to generate a
controlled magnetic field.
In engineering, the term may also refer to a variety
of transducer devices that convert energy into linear motion. The
term is also often used to refer to a solenoid valve, which is an
integrated device containing an electromechanical solenoid which
actuates either a pneumatic or hydraulic valve, or a solenoid
switch, which is a specific type of relay that internally uses an
electromechanical solenoid to operate an electrical switch; for
example, an automobile starter solenoid, or a linear solenoid,
which is an electromechanical solenoid. Solenoid bolts, a type of
electronic-mechanical locking mechanism, also exist. In
electromagnetic technology, a solenoid is an actuator assembly
with a sliding ferromagnetic plunger inside the coil. Without
power, the plunger extends for part of its length outside the coil.
Applying power pulls the plunger into the coil. Electromagnets
with fixed cores are not considered to be solenoids.
Infinite continuous solenoid[edit]
An infinite solenoid is a solenoid with infinite length but finite diameter. Continuous means that the
solenoid is not formed by discrete finite-width coils but by infinitely many infinitely-thin coils with no
space between them; in this abstraction, the solenoid is often viewed as a cylindrical sheet of
conductive material.

Inside[edit]

Figure 1: An infinite solenoid with 3 arbitrary Ampèrian loops labeled a, b and c. Integrating over
path c demonstrates that the magnetic field inside the solenoid must be radially uniform.

The magnetic field inside an infinitely long solenoid is homogeneous and its strength neither
depends on the distance from the axis, nor on the solenoid's cross-sectional area.
This is a derivation of the magnetic flux density around a solenoid that is long enough so that fringe
effects can be ignored. In Figure 1, we immediately know that the flux density vector points in the
positive z direction inside the solenoid, and in the negative z direction outside the solenoid. We
confirm this by applying the right hand grip rule for the field around a wire. If we wrap our right hand
around a wire with the thumb pointing in the direction of the current, the curl of the fingers shows
how the field behaves. Since we are dealing with a long solenoid, all of the components of the
magnetic field not pointing upwards cancel out by symmetry. Outside, a similar cancellation occurs,
and the field is only pointing downwards.
Now consider the imaginary loop c that is located inside the solenoid. By Ampère's law, we know
that the line integral of B (the magnetic flux density vector) around this loop is zero, since it encloses
no electrical currents (it can be also assumed that the circuital electric field passing through the loop
is constant under such conditions: a constant or constantly changing current through the solenoid).
We have shown above that the field is pointing upwards inside the solenoid, so the horizontal
portions of loop c do not contribute anything to the integral. Thus the integral of the up side 1 is
equal to the integral of the down side 2. Since we can arbitrarily change the dimensions of the loop
and get the same result, the only physical explanation is that the integrands are actually equal, that
is, the magnetic field inside the solenoid is radially uniform. Note, though, that nothing prohibits it
from varying longitudinally, which in fact it does.

Outside[edit]
A similar argument can be applied to the loop a to conclude that the field outside the solenoid is
radially uniform or constant. This last result, which holds strictly true only near the center of the
solenoid where the field lines are parallel to its length, is important as it shows that the flux density
outside is practically zero since the radii of the field outside the solenoid will tend to infinity.
An intuitive argument can also be used to show that the flux density outside the solenoid is actually
zero. Magnetic field lines only exist as loops, they cannot diverge from or converge to a point like
electric field lines can (see Gauss's law for magnetism). The magnetic field lines follow the
longitudinal path of the solenoid inside, so they must go in the opposite direction outside of the
solenoid so that the lines can form a loop. However, the volume outside the solenoid is much greater
than the volume inside, so the density of magnetic field lines outside is greatly reduced. Now recall
that the field outside is constant. In order for the total number of field lines to be conserved, the field
outside must go to zero as the solenoid gets longer.
Of course, if the solenoid is constructed as a wire spiral (as often done in practice), then it emanates
an outside field the same way as a single wire, due to the current flowing overall down the length of
the solenoid.

Quantitative description[edit]

The picture shows how Ampere's law can be applied to the Solenoid.

Applying Ampère's Law to the solenoid (see the right figure) gives us

where is the magnetic flux density, is the length of the solenoid, is the magnetic

constant, the number of turns, and the current. From this we get

This equation is valid for a solenoid in free space, which means the permeability of the
magnetic path is the same as permeability of free space, μ0.
If the solenoid is immersed in a material with relative permeability μr, then the field is
increased by that amount:

In most solenoids, the solenoid is not immersed in a higher permeability material, but
rather some portion of the space around the solenoid has the higher permeability
material and some is just air (which behaves much like free space). In that scenario, the
full effect of the high permeability material is not seen, but there will be an effective (or
apparent) permeability μeff such that 1 ≤ μeff ≤ μr.
The inclusion of a ferromagnetic core, such as iron, increases the magnitude of the
magnetic flux density in the solenoid and raises the effective permeability of the
magnetic path. This is expressed by the formula
 where μeff is the effective or apparent permeability of the core. The effective
permeability is a function of the geometric properties of the core and its relative
permeability. The terms relative permeability (a property of just the material) and
effective permeability (a property of the whole structure) are often confused; they
can differ by many orders of magnitude.
For an open magnetic structure, the relationship between the effective permeability
and relative permeability is given as follows:

[citation needed]

where k is the demagnetization factor of the core.