Wires on an Angle

12PHYS - Electricity

Finn Le Sueur

2024

Mahi Tuatahi

  1. Define a magnetic field and give it’s symbol and unit.
  2. Give the formula used to determine force felt by a charged particle in a magnetic field and describe how to find the direction of the force.
  3. For \(F=BIL\), write what each letter stands for and its unit.
  4. What direction is the force on this current carrying wire?
  5. What is the size of the force if the field is \(0.02T\), the current \(2A\) and the length of wire \(10cm\)?

Wires on an Angle

What do you think happens to the force if the wire is on an angle?

\[ \begin{aligned} F &= BILsin(\theta) \end{aligned} \]

  • \(\theta\) is the angle between the current and the magnetic field
  • Force is maximum when perpendicular to the magnetic field (\(sin(90) = 1\))
  • Force is zero when parallel to the magnetic field (\(sin(0) = 0\))
  • You are not required to do calculations with this equation, but need to know the previous two points.