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IB Course Companion: Ch 10
where q is the amount of charge, v is the speed of the charge, B is the magnetic field
strength and is the angle between the velocity vector and magnetic field direction
The force acting on a current carrying wire is used to define the magnetic field strength as follows:
F = ILB sin
where I is the amount of current flowing, L is the length of wire influence by the
magnetic field, B is the magnetic field strength and is the angle between the
direction of the current and the magnetic field direction
Note that if v or I is parallel to B, then the angle = 0 and the force will be 0 as well. There must be some
component of charge motion perpendicular to B to produce a force.
11. Solve problems involving the magnetic forces on currents and moving charges.
Students should be able to calculate the force for situations where the velocity is not perpendicular to the magnetic
field direction. Apply the two equations above.
A special case: if a moving charge enters a region of uniform magnetic field in a direction perpendicular to the
magnetic field direction, then the charge will experience a force that is perpendicular to its velocity. This force will
not change the speed of the charge, only the direction in which it travels. Further, the force will remain
perpendicular to the velocity, with the net result being circular motion. Combining the force relation between the
charge's speed and the magnetic field strength AND the relation for centripetal forces produces some interesting
results.
12. Solve problems involving the magnetic field strength around a straight wire.
The magnetic field around a current carrying wire will vary with distance from the wire. One of Maxwells four
equations (Amperes Law) allows us to predict this field. The math associated with this is beyond the scope of this
class, so we will just state the result.
B = oI / 2R
In this equation, R represents the distance (in a radial sense) from the wire. Since the magnetic field forms a circle
centered on the wire, R is the radius of this circle. I represents the current in the wire and B is the magnetic field
strength. Unlike electricity and gravity, the magnetic field varies as 1/R instead of 1/R 2. The constant o is a
measure of the ability of a material to sustain a magnetic field it is called the permeability of the material. Since
we typically are talking about a wire in air, the constant we use is o, the permeability of free space. It has the
value o = 4 x 10-7 TmA-1. These units produce a magnetic field unit of Tesla (T).
13. Solve problems involving the magnetic field strength within a solenoid.
Students should be aware that B depends on the nature of the solenoid core.
Consider a solenoid coil with an overall length of L that contains a total of N turns of wire. A turn is one complete
circle. The wire contains a current I. Applying Amperes Law gives the following result: B = oNI / L
If we were to place something other than air inside the coil, e.g. an iron bar, then the value of the constant will
change based on the ability of the material to sustain a magnetic field.
Solenoid coils are useful because if we stay away from the end of the coil and near the axis that passes through the
center, we have a uniform magnetic field.
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