SECTION 5 MAGNETISM
Magnetic Fields
Permanents magnets are used as compasses
The North pole of compass needle points to the North pole of the Earth magnet.
There are two poles on a permanent magnet. Like poles repel and unlike poles attract.
There are no magnetic monopoles
Around a magnet, there is the magnetic field which has a direction (see diagram below).
A magnetic dipole in another magnetic field lines up with the external magnetic field.
Iron filings on a piece of paper will align themselves with a magnetic field. Here there is a bar
magnet behind the blue paper.
The tangent to a magnetic field gives the direction of the magnetic field.
The strength of the magnetic field is proportional to the number of field lines per unit area so that if
lines are close, the magnetic field is stronger.
If the magnetic field lines are evenly spaced, the magnetic field is uniformly distributed.
Geomagnetism
Actually, the compass does not point to exactly the geographical North pole.
Geographical North pole is identified using the axis of rotation of the Earth.
Earth’s magnetic North pole is in fact about 1300 km away from the Earth’s geographic North pole.
The North magnetic pole migrates over years, potentially moving ~ 700 km in a century.
The Force that a Magnetic Field exerts on a Moving Charge
An electric charge in an electric field experiences a force.
An electric charge moving in a magnetic field also experiences a force but only if
o it is moving
o a vector component of the charge’s velocity must be perpendicular to the direction of the
magnetic field.
Maximum force when the charge is moving perpendicular to B field.
Component vsinθ is the one associated with the magnetic force.
Component vcosθ is parallel to the magnetic therefore gives rise to no magnetic force
The direction of the magnetic force F is perpendicular to both the velocity v and the magnetic field
B. The force is perpendicular to the rectangle formed by B and v (the plane of v and B). RH1 can
help determine the direction of any one of these vectors.
If charge is negative, pretend it is positive first, use the RH1 then the opposite direction is true.
Around an electric charge, there is an electric field E which has direction. The size of E can be
determined by placing a test charge q in the electric field and determining the electric force F felt by
the charge.
𝑭
𝑬=
𝒒
In a magnetic field,
𝑭
𝑩=
𝒒(𝒗𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽)
with SI units Ns/Cm = Teslas
C/s = A therefore 1 T = 1 N / (A.m)
Magnetic field B is a vector. The equation above defines its magnitude and a small compass can be
used to define its direction.
1 T is a very strong and unusual
The motion of a charged particle in a magnetic field is different from its motion in an electric field.
In an E field, E does work on the charge (W = qV).
In a magnetic field, B does no work on the charge because the force it exerts on the charge is always
perpendicular to the motion of the charge.
The magnetic field cause a moving charge to move along a circular path.
The centripetal force should be
𝑴𝒗𝟐
𝑭𝑪 =
𝒓
The centripetal force is coming from the magnetic field so
𝑭𝑪
𝑩=
𝒒𝒗𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽
𝜃 = 90 .0
𝑭𝑪
𝑩=
𝒒𝒗
𝑴𝒗𝟐
𝒒𝒗𝑩 =
𝒓
𝑴𝒗
𝒓=
𝒒𝑩
r is inversely proportional to B.
The Mass Spectrometer
This analytical instrument can be used to find
o the relative masses and abundances of isotopes
o the identity of molecules produced in a reaction
o the gases in a patient’s lung
A simplified design
The atoms/molecules are first vaporized then ionized by the ion source.
Ionization removes an electron.
The potential difference V accelerates the electrons towards a hole in the metal plate.
The particle enters the magnetic field with a velocity v.
Remember
𝒗
𝒓 = 𝑴( )
𝒆𝑩
If v, e and B are fixed, small mass particles follow smaller circles while larger mass particles follow
large circle paths.
If you move the detector around you can detect the number of particles of different sizes.
Also
𝒆𝒓𝟐 𝟐
𝑴=( )𝑩
𝟐𝑽
So, if the detector is kept at the same place and you adjust B, the particles that follow path of radius r
will change. So, you can choose to detect different mass particles without moving the detector.
Spectrograph of naturally occurring neon shows three different isotopes existing (three different
atomic masses). The most abundant neon isotope is Ne-20.
The diagram shows a typical spectrograph of another material sample.
If you place a wire with a current in a magnetic Field, it will feel a magnetic force
A charge moving in a magnetic field feels a magnetic force.
A wire with a current has many charges moving in it and so it feels a magnetic force (diagram (a)).
Direction of the magnetic force on the wire - Use RH1.
velectron
Felectrons and wire
Fpositive charges Felectrons and wire
Field
R.H.1
(a)
If the wire is at an angle of 𝜃 force on one charge is
𝑭 = 𝑩𝒒𝒗𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽
If the charge takes time t to travel along the wire, we can use maths to rearrange the equation as
𝒒
𝑭 = 𝑩 ( ) (𝒗𝒕)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽
𝒕
In electricity, q/t = I. In mechanics, v = L/t. So the force on a current carrying conductor of length L
is
𝑭 = 𝑩𝑰𝑳𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽
The maximum force is felt when the wire is exactly 900 to the B field (F = BIL)
A current carrying coil in a magnetic field will feel like turning
If the current-carrying wire above is shaped like a coil, it will feel two equal opposing forces.
Two opposing forces set up like this cause the wire to feel a turning effect which is called a torque 𝜏.
𝝉 = 𝑩𝑨𝑰𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝋
You get the maximum torque on the coil when 𝜑 is 900.
If the wire is made into more turns, for example N turns, the torque on the coil will be
𝝉 = 𝑩𝑨𝑵𝑰𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝋
This equation applies to any shape of a coil (e.g. rectangular coil. circular coil e.t.c.)
How a motor works
If you place a coil with a current in a magnetic field, it will turn. This is how a motor works. Motors
used for turning in many devices that we use everyday.
Simplified DC motor (The coil actually has more turns and is wrapped around a piece iron to
increase the magnetic forces and torques on the coil)
Use RH1 to find the force on each of the coil wires.
When the coil reaches the position in diagram (b), the split rings lose contact briefly but luckily, the
coil is moving and its inertia allows it to keep turning until it is in contact again.
A split ring commutator is used so that the current in the left wire is always upwards and the current
in the right wire is always downwards.
A wire with a current also creates a magnet
The bar magnet is a permanent magnet.
A wire with a current can produce another kind of magnet called an electromagnet. The diagram
shows the electromagnet created by a long straight wire with a current.
The magnetic field is circular and the direction can be determined using right hand rule 2 (RH2). A
hall probe can be used to determine the size of B at any point in the field.
The strength of the magnetic field at any point in the magnetic field of the wire is directly
proportional to current I and inversely proportional to the distance r from the wire.
𝝁𝟎 𝑰
𝑩=
𝟐𝝅𝒓
The constant 𝜇0 = 4𝜋 x 10 T m / A = permeability of free space.
-7
Two current-carrying wires near each other are two electromagnets near each other. They exert a
magnetic force on each other.
Suppose wire 1 carries 15 A and wire 2 carries 7 A and the two wires are 6.5 cm away from each
other.
Wire 2 is in the magnetic field of wire 1. It is at a place in wire 1’s magnetic field whre the magnetic
field strength is
𝝁𝟎 𝑰 (𝟒𝝅 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟕 )(𝟏𝟓)
𝑩= = = 𝟒. 𝟔 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 𝑻
𝟐𝝅𝒓 𝟐𝝅 × 𝟎. 𝟎𝟔𝟓
So, wire 2 is at a place in the magnetic field of wire 1 whre Bwire 1 = 4.6 x 10-5 T and it experiences a
magnetic force due to this magnetic field. The direction of the magnetic force it feels is obtained
using RH1. If wire 2 is 1.5 m long then the size of the force wire 2 feels is given by
𝑭 = 𝑩𝑰𝑳𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽 = (𝟒. 𝟔 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 𝑻)(𝟕)(𝟏. 𝟓)𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟗𝟎𝟎 = 𝟒. 𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟒 𝑵
If the wire is shaped into a loop, it creates a differently shaped magnetic field
If the wire is shaped into a coil of N turns, that electromagnet has the following magnetic field.
If you bring one coil electromagnet near another one, they will attract or repel in the same way bar
magnets behave.
The size of the magnetic field at the centre of a circular loop of radius R is given by
𝑵𝝁𝟎 𝑰
𝑩=
𝟐𝑹
And if the wire is shaped into a helix with N turns, that electromagnet is a solenoid.
The field inside a solenoid (not too close to the ends) is uniform.
Just like a loop of wire, you can imagine the solenoid is a bar magnet and the North pole may be
located using RH2.
Solenoids are useful when a large region of uniform magnetic field is required e.g magnetic
resonance imaging (read about it).
The Ampere.
Suppose the same current I flows in two long straight wires that are parallel and separated by a
distance r.
We saw earlier that the magnetic field at the second wire has magnitude,
𝝁𝟎 𝑰
𝑩=
𝟐𝝅𝒓
and the magnetic field is perpendicular to the wire.
That second wire feels a force due to the first wire’s field and the force has a magnitude,
𝝁𝟎 𝑰 𝝁𝟎 𝑰𝟐 𝑳
𝑭 = 𝑩(𝑰𝑳𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟗𝟎𝟎 ) = (𝑰𝑳𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟗𝟎𝟎 ) =
𝟐𝝅𝒓 𝟐𝝅𝒓
One ampere is defined using this relationship.
𝟐𝝅𝑭
𝑰=√
𝝁𝟎 𝑳𝒓
If the wires are 1 m apart and a force of 2 x 10-7 N is measured as the force felt by 1 m of one of the
wires, that wire is carrying a current of
𝟐𝝅𝑭 𝟐𝝅(𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟕 )
𝑰=√ =√ =𝟏𝑨
𝝁𝟎 𝑳𝒓 𝟒𝝅 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟕 (𝟏)(𝟏)
One ampere of current is ‘the electric current that flows in each of two long parallel wires if a force
of 2 x 10-7 N is experienced per metre in each wire when they are placed 1 m away from each other.
How permanent Magnets are made
Magnetic Materials
Ferromagnetism – The magnetic field created by a current-carrying wire loop is due to moving
charges (current).
The magnetic field around a bar magnet is also due to moving charges (Electrons moving in the
magnetic material - movement within orbitals and spinning. In most materials, the net magnetism
(result of all N and S poles) tends to be zero. Most materials are therefore non-magnetic.
However, in some materials several regions with atomic spins aligned parallel to each other. These
regions are called magnetic domains. Because of the magnetic domains, the material nds up with a
net magnetism. Such materials are called ferromagnets. Examples – Iron, Nickel, Cobalt.
Induced Magntism
Usually, magnetic domains in a ferromagnet are arranged randomly (Diagram (a)).
The ferromagnet therefore exhibits very little magnetism.
If you bring an external magnetic field near an unmagnetized ferromagnet (bring an already
magnetized permanent magnet or an electromagnet), the ferromagnet will become magnetized. The
domains will line up with the external field and the result will be a material with many aligned
magnetic domain. A material with many aligned magnetic domains exhibits magnetism (It is a
magnet). The produced magnet is called an induced magnet since the magnetism was induced by
bringing another magnet near the unmagnetized material.
Induced magnetism explains why magnets attract unmagnetized ferromagnetic materials.
A non-magnetic material will nevr be magnetized or attracted by a magnet e.g. aluminium and
copper.
