Module 2

LESSON
1 MAGNETIC FIELD AND MAGNETIC FORCES

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to;
• Describe the motion of a charged particle in a magnetic field.
• Calculate the force of a magnetic field on a current carrying wire.

Introduction:
Welcome to the first lesson of your Module 2 in Electricity and Magnetism. Today you will determine the
force of magnetic field. The first magnetic phenomena to be observed were those associated with
natural magnets. These were rough fragments of iron ore found near the ancient town of Magnesia in
Asia. In fact, the word magnet was derived from the name of that town. These natural magnets have
the property of attracting to themselves unmagnetised iron, the effect being most pronounced at certain
regions of the magnet known as its poles.
It was by observing electric currents that the connection between electricity and magnetism was firmly
established. Thus in 1820 Haus Christian Oersted (1777 – 1851) at the University of Copenhagen,
Demark found that a wire carrying an electric current deflected a nearby compass needle. It is now well
known that electric current produce magnetic fields and that a changing magnetic field produces an
electric current. This connection between current and magnetism gave birth to electromagnetism, a
subject to which modern civilization is heavily indebted.

Activity:
Prepare the following: (that is if you have the following in your household)
1. a piece of paper (used bond paper)
2. iron fillings (you can substitute the iron fillings with dry sand from your yard.
3. a bar magnet.

Procedure:
1. put the paper beside the magnet on a table.
2. put the iron fillings at the center of the paper. Try to evenly spread the iron fillings circularly using
your fingertips.
3. position the paper with the iron fillings in it on the top of the magnet. Move the paper around the
magnet slowly.
4. observe keenly on the effect of procedure #3 to the iron fillings.

Analysis:
Upon the completion of the activity above, answer the following questions. Use the provided space for
your answers.
1. What was your observation.
2. What do you think is the reason of this phenomenon?
3. Can you determine the direction and pattern of what you’ve observed?
4. If your answer to the question #3 is yes, what is the implication of this direction and pattern?
Abstraction:
Fields Due to Magnets
The magnetic properties of a magnet appear to originate at certain regions in the magnet which are
referred to as the poles. In a bar magnet the poles are the ends.
Here are some experimental findings about magnets
(i) Like poles are of two kinds
(ii) Like poles repel each other and unlike poles attract
(iii) Poles always seem to occur in equal and opposite pairs, and
(iv) When no other magnet is near, a freely suspended magnet sets so that the line joining its poles (i.e
its magnet axis) is approximately parallel to the earth’s north – south axis.

The fourth finding suggests that the earth itself behaves like a large permanent magnet and it makes it
appropriate to call the pole of a magnet which points (more or less0 towards the earth’s geographical
North Pole, the north pole of the magnet and the other the south pole.

The space surrounding a magnet where a magnetic force is experienced is called a magnetic field. The
direction of a magnetic field at a point is taken as the direction of the force that acts on a north magnetic
pole there. A magnetic field can be represented by magnetic field lines drawn so that:
(i) The line (or the tangent to it if is curved) gives the direction of the field at that point, and
(ii) The number of lines per unit cross-section area is an indication of the “strength” of the
field.

Arrow on the lines show the direction of the field and since a north pole is repelled by the north pole of
a magnet and attracted by the south, the arrows point away from the north poles and toward south
poles.
For stationary charges, they experienced an electric force in an electric field. For moving charges, they
experienced a magnetic force in a magnetic field.
Mathematically, 𝐹⃗𝐸 = 𝑞𝐸⃗⃗ (electric force)
𝐹⃗𝐵 = 𝑞𝑣⃗ 𝑥 𝐵⃗⃗ (magnetic force)

Where
Direction of the magnetic force determined from right hand rule.

Figure 1 the Right-hand Rule

Force on a Current in a Magnetic Field.

When a current-carrying conductor lies in a magnetic field, magnetic force are exerted on the moving
charges within the conductor. These forces are transmitted to the material of the conductor, and the
conductor experienced a force distributed along its length. The electric motor and the moving coil
galvanometer both depend on their operation on the magnetic force on conductor – carrying currents.

The force on a current-carrying conductor is:

(i) always perpendicular to the plane containing the conductor and the direction of the field in which it is
placed and
(ii) greatest when the conductor is at right angles to the field.

Factors Affecting the Force

The force F on a wire lying at right angles to a magnetic field is directly proportion to the current I in the
wire and to the length L of the wire in the field. It also depends on the magnetic field.

Since B = 1 N/A.m ….this is also known as tesla (T)

B is a vector whose direction at any point is that of the field line at that point. Its magnitude may be
represented pictorially by the number of field lines passing through unit area; the greater this is, the
greater the value of B.

Since force depends on the magnetic field to define the strength of the field, then, the magnetic flux
density – the number of magnetic field lines passing through a given closed surface that provides the
measurement of the total magnetic field that passes through a given surface area – is the force acting
per unit current length.

Force on an Electron Moving in a Magnetic field

An electric current in a wire is conventionally regarded as a flow of positive charge, although it consists
in fact of a flow of negative electrons in the opposite direction.
Suppose an electron of charge e is moving with velocity v at right angles to a magnetic field of flux
density B.
The electron moves a distance l in a time t, where t = l/v, and constitutes a current I.
 = Bev

We saw that magnetic flux density could be calculated. Now, let us incorporate the Biot-Savart Law.
Biot and Savart stated that for a very short length dl of conductor, carrying a steady current I, the
magnitude of the flux density dB at a point P distant r from dl is

Where 𝜃 is the angle between dl and the line joining it to the point P. The product Idi is called a “ current
element”.

It is clear that before the Biot-Savart law can be used in calculation, it has to be expressed as an
equation and a constant of proportionality introduced. The constant of proportionality is a property of
the medium. It is called the permeability of the medium and is denoted by μ.

The permeability of a vacuum is denoted by μ o, and its value is defined to be 4𝜋 x 10-7 and its unit is
the henry per metre ( Hm-1 = 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−2⋅A−2 ). Air and most other materials except Ferromagnetics
have nearly the same permeability as a vacuum. And so Biot-Savart equation becomes:

Circular coil
Suppose a coil is in the air, has radius r, carries a steady current I and is considered to consist of current
elements of length dl. Each element is at distance r from the center 0 of the coil and is at right angles
to the line joining it to 0. i.e. q = 900. At 0 the total flux density B is he sum of the flux densities dB due
to all of the elements.

Then… B =

𝜇𝑜𝑁𝐼
Then… B =
2𝑟
If it is a solenoid, it will have N turns, length l and carried a current I, the flux density B
at a point 0 on the axis near the centre of the solenoid, figure 3.14, is found to
be given by

Where n = N/l = number of turns per unit length. Thus B is equal to μo multiplied by the ampere-turns
per metre. At P, a point at the end of a long solenoid B = μonI/2

The Ampere
The ampere is the basic electrical unit of the SI system. Therefore, it has to be defined, like any other
unit, so that it is accurately reproducible. The definition is based on the force between two long, straight,
parallel current carrying conductors.

To derive an expression for the force, let us consider two long, straight, parallel conductors, distance a
part in air, carrying current I1 and I2 respectively, the magnetic field at the right-hand conductor due to
the current I1 in the left-hand one is directed into the paper and its flux density B1 is given by

The forces F acting on length l of the right-hand conductor (carrying current I2) is therefore

The left-hand conductor experiences an equal and opposite force due to being in the field of the right-
hand conductor. The ampere is the constant current which, flowing in two infinitely long, straight, parallel
conductors of negligible circular cross-section, placed in a vacuum 1 metre apart, produces between
them a force of 2 x 10-7 newton per meter of their length.

Once the ampere has been defined, the value of μo follows. Thus we have from the definition

This unit has introduced you to an important area of the course, the magnetic field. You should note that
electric currents produce magnetic fields and a changing magnetic field produces an electric current.
We have defined the magnetic field at a point in terms of the force on a steady current element. You
are now able to use the derived formula for the force on a steady current element to calculate the force
on some simple current-carrying circuits. The Biot-Savart law enables you to handle other shapes. The
ampere which is the basic electric unit of the SI system has been defined on the basis of the force
between two long, straight, parallel current-carrying conductors. The value of the permeability of free
space was deduced from the definition of ampere.
Application:
An electron moving with a velocity of 7 x 107 m/s enters a magnetic field of 1Wb/m2 at an angle of 850
to the magnetic field. Calculate the possible magnetic force acting on the electron.

A proton is moving northwards with a velocity of 5 x 107 m/s in a uniform magnetic field of 10 Tesla
directed eastward. Find the magnitude and direction of the magnetic force on the proton.