Chapter 14

Magnets and
Electromagnetism
Lecture PowerPoint

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

In Chapter 14m we build on the idea of electric current in the previous chapter. An
important discovery in the history of physics was the finding that an electric current and a
magnetic field are related to each other. The magnetic field arises from the motion of
electric charges. This led to the development of many applications.

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 Magnets and the Magnetic Force 1

We are generally more familiar with magnetic

forces than with electrostatic forces.
• Like the gravitational force and the electrostatic force,
this force acts even when the objects are not touching
one another.
Is there a relationship between electrical effects
and magnetism?
• Maxwell discovered that the electrostatic force and the
magnetic force are really just different aspects of one
fundamental electromagnetic force.
Our understanding of that relationship has led to
numerous inventions such as electric motors,
electric generators, transformers, etc.
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

The discovery that electric currents and magnetic fields are related is credited to Hans
Christian Ørsted in 1820. Several decades later, Scottish mathematician James Clerk
Maxwell developed a theory of electromagnetism that explained why they are related.

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 As you probably already know, magnets attract metallic
items made of iron or steel, but not silver, copper,
aluminum, or most nonmetallic materials.
• The three most common magnetic elements are the metals iron,
cobalt, and nickel.
Magnets also attract or repel each other depending on how
they are aligned.
• The north-seeking end of a magnet wants to point north, and it is
called the north magnetic pole.
• The south-seeking end wants
to point south, and it is called
the south magnetic pole.

Like poles repel one

another, and
unlike poles attract one
another.
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We know that magnets have to poles. And we’ve seen that like electric charges repel and
unlike charges attract. The same thing happens with the poles of magnets. Like poles repel
each other, and unlike poles attract each other.

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 The force that two poles exert on one another
varies with distance or pole strength.
• The magnetic force between two poles decreases with the square
of the distance between the two poles, just as the electrostatic
force does.
• Some magnets are stronger than others; the force is directly
proportional to the pole strength of the magnets involved.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

Here you see that principle illustrated.

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 Magnetic field lines produced by a magnetic dipole form a
pattern similar to the electric field lines produced by an
electric dipole.
• Electric field lines originate on positive charges and terminate on
negative charges.
• Magnetic field lines form continuous loops: they emerge from the
north pole and enter through the south pole, pointing from the north
pole to the south pole outside the magnet.
• Inside the magnet, they point from the south pole to the north pole.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

When we talk about a magnetic field, like the one around the Earth, we are talking about
something we cannot actually see. However, we can illustrate its effects by drawing lines
that follow the curvature of the magnetic effects.

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 A magnetic dipole tends to line up with an externally
produced magnetic field just as an electric dipole tends to
line up with an electric field.
• Both dipoles experience a torque due to the force from the
externally produced field.
• This is why iron filings line up with the field lines around a magnet.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education ©McGraw-Hill Education/Lars Nikki, photographer

Here is a simple experiment that you can do which will show you how we know that
magnetic field lines really exist. Sprinkle iron filings around a bar magnet (or on a sheet of
paper laid on top of the magnetic – much neater this way). The iron filings will line up with
the lines of the magnetic field.

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 Is the Earth a magnet?
The north (north-seeking) pole of a compass
needle points toward the Earth’s “North Pole.”
The magnetic field produced by
the Earth can be pictured by
imagining a large bar magnet
inside the Earth.
Since unlike poles attract, the
south pole of the Earth’s
magnet must point in a
northerly direction.
The axis of the Earth’s
magnetic field is not aligned
exactly with the Earth’s axis of
rotation.
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

We will see momentarily that the source of a magnetic field is moving electric charge (i.e.
an electric current of some sort). The Earth has a magnetic field – that’s why compasses
point north (or south). The Earth’s magnetic field arises from the slow movement of molten
iron and nickel in Earth’s core.

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 Magnetic Effects of Electric Currents
1

Oersted discovered that a compass needle was

deflected by a current-carrying wire.
• With the wire oriented along a north-south line, the
compass needle deflects away from this line when there
is current flowing in the wire.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

Here is how Hans Christian Ørsted made his discovery. When he placed a compass near a
wire carrying a current, he found that the needle was deflected & always perpendicular to
the direction of the current.

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 The magnetic field produced by the current is
perpendicular to the direction of the current.
The magnetic field lines produced by a straight,
current-carrying wire form circles centered on the
wire.
• The right-hand rule gives the direction of the field lines:
with the thumb in the direction of the current, the fingers
curl in the direction of the field lines produced by that
current.
• The effect gets weaker as
the compass is moved
away from the wire.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

We have a simple convention for defining the direction of a magnetic field arising from the
current in a wire. It is called the “right-hand rule” (… apologies to lefties, but some right-
hander got her first).

Wrap your right hand around the wire … with your thumb pointing in the direction the
current is flowing. Your other fingers will point in the direction of the circular magnetic field
lines around the wire.

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 Two parallel current-carrying wires exert an
attractive force on each other when the two
currents are in the same direction.
• The force is proportional to the two currents (I1 and I2) and
inversely proportional to the distance r between the two wires:

F 2 k ' I1 I 2
=
l r
whewe K ' = 1× 10−7 N/A 2

• One ampere (A) is the amount of current

flowing in each of two parallel wires
separated by a distance of 1 meter that
produces a force per unit length on each
wire of x 10-7 N/m.
• The unit of magnetic field strength is
1 Tesla (T) = 1 N/(A m)
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

A magnetic force arises when two currents generate two magnetic fields in proximity to
each other. If the currents are flowing in the same direction, the two wires will feel a small
force pulling them toward each other. If the currents are flowing in opposite directions, the
wires will feel a slight push away from each other.

We have a unit for the strength of a magnetic field. It is named after Nicola Tesla … not the
car that Elon Musk manufactures.

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 Magnetic forces are exerted by magnets on other
magnets, by magnets on current-carrying wires, and by
current-carrying wires on each other.
• The force exerted by one wire on the other is attractive
when the currents are flowing in the same direction and F = IlB
repulsive when the currents are flowing in opposite
directions.
• The magnetic force exerted on a moving charge of an electric
current is perpendicular to both the velocity of the charges and to
the magnetic field.
• This force is
proportional to the
quantity of the charge
and the velocity of the
moving charge and to
the strength of the
magnetic field:

F = qvB
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

Here’s our mathematical relationship between the force, the charge, the velocity of the
charge, and the strength of the magnetic field.

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 For this relationship to be valid, the velocity must
be perpendicular to the field.
This actually defines the magnetic field as the
force per unit charge and unit of velocity: F
B=
How to determine the direction of a magnetic force: qv⊥

If the index finger of the

right hand points in the
direction of the velocity
of the charge, and the
middle finger in the
direction of the magnetic
field, then the thumb
indicates the direction of
the magnetic force acting
on a positive charge.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

A magnetic field will exert a force on a moving electric charge, and we have another “right-
hand” rule for that. Point your index finger in the direction the charge is moving and your
middle finger in the direction of the magnetic field lines. Then your thumb will point in the
direction of the force on a positive charge. The direction of force on a negative charge –
like an electron – will be in the opposite direction, of course.

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 The force on a moving positively
charged particle is perpendicular
to the particle’s motion and to the
magnetic field, just as the force on
a current is perpendicular to the
current and to the field.
• The force on a negative charge is in
the opposite direction of the force on
a positive charge: q → -q.
Because the force is perpendicular
to the velocity of the particle, the
force does no work on the particle.
• It cannot increase the particle’s
kinetic energy; it only serves to
change the direction of the particle’s
motion.
• It provides a centripetal acceleration.
• If the charge is moving perpendicular
to a uniform magnetic field, the
particle will follow a circular path.
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

This force can change the direction in which a charged particle is moving. This is the
principle that mass spectrometers operate on.

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 Magnetic Effects of Current Loops 1

When a current-carrying wire is bent into a circular loop,

the magnetic fields produced by different segments of the
wire add to produce a strong field near the center of the
loop.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

We’ve seen that a current in a wire generates a magnetic field around the wire. That field
gets weaker as you get farther from the wire. However, when we have a coil of wire, the
field is strongest right in the center of the coil.

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 The magnetic field produced by a current loop is
identical to one produced by a short bar magnet
(a magnetic dipole).
• In fact, in an external magnetic field, a current loop will
experience a torque just as a bar magnet would.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

Notice that the magnetic field in the center of the loop/coil is similar in shape to the
magnetic field produced by a simple bar magnet.

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 Consider a rectangular loop:
• Each segment of the rectangular loop is a straight wire.
• The force on each segment is given by F=IlB.
• Using the right-hand rule, you can verify that the loop will tend to
rotate in the direction indicated.
• The forces on the two ends of
the loop produce no torque
about the center of the loop,
because their lines of action
pass through the center of the
loop.
• The forces on the other two
sides combine to produce a
torque that tends to line up the
plane of the loop perpendicular
to the magnetic field.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

We can put a rectangular loop in a magnetic field. Each segment of that loop acts like a
short straight wire. The magnetic field will exert a force on each segment that is
perpendicular to the magnetic field.

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 A current-carrying rectangular loop of wire is placed
in an external magnetic field as shown. In what
direction will this loop tend to rotate as a result of
the magnetic torque exerted on it?
a) Clockwise
b) Counterclockwise

b) The loop will rotate

counterclockwise.
The forces on the long arms
are outward and because
they do not share a
common line of action,
impart a counterclockwise
torque on the loop.
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

We can use the right-hand rule to answer this question. We see that the loop will rotate
counterclockwise.

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 Since the magnetic forces on the loop segments
are proportional to the electric current flowing
around the loop, the magnitude of the torque is
also proportional to the current.

Thus, the torque on a

current-carrying coil can
be used for measuring
electric current.
An electric meter
consists of a coil of
wire, a permanent
magnet, and a restoring
spring to return the
needle to zero when
there is no current
flowing through the coil.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

This is the principle behind a meter used to measure electric current.

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 This torque is also the basis of operation for
electric motors.
• The current must reverse directions every half turn to
keep the coil turning.
• This can be achieved by using alternating current, or by
using a reversing direction of dc current with a split
ring commutator.

One design for a simple dc

motor consists of a wire-
wound rotor mounted on an
axle between the pole faces
of a permanent magnet.
The split ring causes the
current to reverse directions
every half turn, thus
keeping the coil turning the
same direction.
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

This principle is applied “in reverse” in electric motors. A current in the loop causes it to
feel a force from the magnets, causing it to rotate. When it is halfway around, the split ring
part means that the current is effectively reversed, with the result that the mechanism
keeps turning in the same direction.

We can control the speed of an electric motor by controlling how much current we put
through the loop.

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 The magnetic field produced by a coil of wire will be
stronger than one produced by a single loop carrying the
same current.
• The magnetic field produced by each loop all add together.
• The resulting field
strength is proportional
to the number of turns
N that are wound on
the coil.
• The torque on the coil,
when placed in an
external magnetic field,
is also proportional to
both the current and
the number of turns in
the coil.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

So far, we have just talked about what happens in one loop, either circular or rectangular.
When we have multiple loops, the effect is magnified that many time over.

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 Can we utilize the similarities between a
current-carrying coil of wire and a magnet?
By winding a coil
around a steel needle
or nail, the magnetic
field produced is
enhanced.
The nail then behaves
like a magnet that is
stronger than most
natural magnets.
This is an
electromagnet.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

We can use this idea to create an electromagnet. You have done this as a child or as an
experiment in elementary school. You wrap a wire around a large nail several times and
connect the ends to a battery. The nail can then be used – as an electromagnet – to pick up
small metal objects.

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 Faraday’s Law: Electromagnetic
Induction 1

We have seen that an electric current produces a magnetic

field.
• Can magnetic fields produce electric currents?
Faraday tried, at first unsuccessfully, to detect a
current in a coil as a result of a current in a nearby
coil.
• The primary coil was connected to a battery to
produce a current.
• The secondary coil was connected to a galvanometer,
a device to detect magnitude and direction of current.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

We’ve seen that an electric current will generate a magnetic field.

We will now see that – under the right conditions – a magnetic field can generate a electric
current.

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 With coils of about 200 feet of copper wire, Faraday noticed
a very brief deflection of a galvanometer when the current
in the primary coil was first started or when it was
interrupted.
• The galvanometer deflected one way when the primary was first
connected to the battery and the opposite direction when the
contact was broken.
• No current was detected in the secondary coil when there was a
secondary current in the primary coil.

An electric
current is only
induced in the
secondary coil
when there is
a changing
current in the
primary.
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

The tricky part here is that the magnetic field must by changing in order to cause an electric
current to flow in wire. This was discovered by Michael Faraday.

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 The changing current in the primary coil implies a changing
magnetic field.
The electric current in the secondary coil implies that there
is an electric field being induced.
Faraday also detected a current in a coil of wire when a
magnet was moved into or out of the center of the coil.
• The galvanometer deflected one way when the magnet was being
inserted and the opposite direction when it was being withdrawn.
• No current was detected when the magnet was not moving.

An electric
field is
produced
when there is
a changing
magnetic field.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

What Faraday discovered was that a static magnetic field didn’t do anything. The magnetic
field had to be changing to generate a current.

This is a simple demonstration you can do in a physics lab. Connect a meter to a coil of
wire. Slide a magnet in an out, and you’ll get deflections in the meter. (Just hold the
magnet there, and nothing happens.)

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 Magnetic flux (Φ) is a measure of how much
magnetic field is passing through a loop of wire.
• It is at a maximum when the field lines are
perpendicular to the plane of the loop, and it is zero
when the field lines are parallel to the plane of the loop.

For a coil of N
loops, the flux
through the coil is
equal to the flux
through one loop,
multiplied by the
number of loops:
Φ = NBA

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

Look back at the previous slide, and you’ll see that the magnet is moving perpendicular to
the plane of the coils (that is, perpendicular to the circle formed by each loop in the coil).

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 Faraday’s Law
A voltage (electromotive force) is induced in a
circuit when there is a changing magnetic flux
passing through the circuit.
The induced voltage is equal to the rate of change
of the magnetic flux:

∆Φ
ε=
t

This process is called electromagnetic

inductance.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

This gives us Faraday’s Law. The process is called electromagnetic inductance because we
use a changing magnetic field to induce an electric current.

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 Lenz’s Law
The direction of
the induced
current generated
by a changing
magnetic flux
produces a
magnetic field that
opposes the
change in the
original magnetic
flux.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

This law simply tells us the direction in which the current will flow, depending on the
direction in which the magnetic field is changing.

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 Generators and Transformers 1

A generator converts mechanical energy to electrical

energy by electromagnetic induction and produces an
alternating current.
A simple generator consists of a
coil of wire that generates an
electric current when turned
between the pole faces of
permanent magnets.
The coil’s rotation causes the
magnetic flux through the coil to
change continuously.
It is this changing flux that
produces a current in the coil.

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education ©McGraw-Hill Education/James Ballard, photographer

A common application of these principles is the electric generator. This is how hydroelectric
power plants produce electricity. The water falling through the dam is used to turn loops of
wire inside massive magnets. This generates electric current which is distributed to the
power grid.

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 The flux changes continuously from a maximum
value in one direction, to zero, to a maximum
value in the opposite direction.
The induced voltage depends on the rate of
change of the flux.
When the flux is
increasing the fastest,
the voltage is a
maximum; when the
flux is decreasing the
fastest, the voltage is
a maximum in the
other direction
(negative).
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

Electricity generated this way is alternating current.

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 A transformer adjusts the voltage of an ac circuit
up or down as needed for a particular application.

Transformers are seen on

utility poles, at electrical
substations, and as voltage
adapters for electrical
devices.
The ability to use
generators and
transformers mean that
alternating current is
convenient for large-scale
power production and
distribution.
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education (top) ©Montree Hanlue/123RF; (Bottom) ©homestudio/123RF

Alternating current is easy to send long distances – without too much loss of energy – if the
electricity is transmitted at very high voltages.

A transformer is used to change the voltage.

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 The ratio of the number of turns in the primary coil to
the voltage on the primary coil is equal to the ratio of
the number of turns on the secondary coil to the
induced voltage in the secondary coil:

N1 N
= 2
∆V1 ∆V2

N 
∆V2 = ∆V1  2 
 N1 

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

The change in voltage is proportional to the numbers of turns on each side of the
transformer.

Here’s an example. Suppose this transformer has 200 turns in the primary coil and 20 turns
in the second coil. If we supply 100 millivolts to the primary coil, how much voltage will
there be in the secondary coil.

V2 = (100)(20/200) = 10 millivolts.

Two important things to remember about transformers … 1) when we are working with
alternating current, the frequency (usually 60 Hz in the U.S.) never changes, 2) the power
output on one side is the same as the power input on the other side (we can “make energy
appear”).

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 If you need 12 volts to run an appliance, using the
power provided at the wall socket with 120 volts, you
need a step-down transformer with ten times as many
turns in the primary coil as in the secondary coil.
If you need higher
voltages than the
120 volts provided,
you need a step-up
transformer with
more turns on the
secondary than on
the primary.

N1 N N 
= 2 ∆V2 = ∆V1  2 
∆V1 ∆V2  N1 
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

We generally step up the voltage for transmitting energy somewhere. When the electricity
arrives at its destination – your home or business – we use a step-down transformer to get
the voltages we need.

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 High voltages are desirable for long-distance transmission
of electrical power.
• The higher the voltage, the lower the current needed to transmit a
given amount of power.
• Minimizing the current minimizes the heat lost to resistive heating
(P=I2R).
• Transmission voltages as high as 230 kV = 230,000 V are not
unusual.
• Transformers at electrical substations reduce the voltage to 7200
volts for in-town distribution.
• Transformers on utility poles or underground lower this voltage to
220 - 240 volts for entry into buildings.
• This can be used as is for older appliances or lowered to 110 volts
for common household circuits.

Direct current is occasionally used to transmit power over

long distances, as it does not lose energy by radiation of
electromagnetic waves like alternating current does.
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

Here’s an explanation – yeah, a bit technical – about why transmitting at very high voltages
reduces our energy loss.

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