OERSTED’S DISCOVERY

Oersted discovered that a conductor carrying current has a magnetic field around
it. He observed that the direction of a compass needle near a current carrying
conductor changed immediately the current was switched off.
The direction of the compass needle depended on;
i) Whether the compass needle is above or below the conductor
ii) The direction of current.
This shows that there is relationship between electric current and magnetism.
To determine the direction that the compass needle will turn to, we use the
Amperes swimming rule which it states that ” Imagine you are
swimming along the wire in the direction of the current and you are
facing the compass needle, the north pole of the needle will turn towards
your left hand.
COMPASS NEEDLE ABOVE THE WIRE

Current upwards Current downwards

When the direction of current is reversed the direction of compass changes.
COMPASS NEEDLE BELOW THE WIRE

Current upwards Current downwards

MAGNETIC FIELD PATTERN ON A STRAIGHT CONDUCTOR

CARRYING - CURRENT.
A conductor carrying current is made to pass straight vertically thru a sheet of
cardboard and then some iron fillings are sprinkled on the cardboard. The iron
fillings settle in concentric circles.
When a compass needle is used instead of iron fillings, the compass needles are
aligned in a circle pointing in clockwise direction.
Cardboard Cardboard

Iron fillings Iron fillings

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When the current is reversed, the needles point in anticlockwise direction.
The direction in which the needle faces is the direction of magnetic field due to
that conductor.
This direction can be determined by the right hand grip rule that states that “If a
conductor carrying current is gripped in the right hand with the thumb
pointing along the wire in the direction of the current, the fingers will point in
the direction of the magnetic field”.

If conductor is carrying current is a circular loop, the magnetic field is a follows.

Current

•
Current into

Current out

Current out dot • and current into is a is x or (+)

MAGNETIC FIELD DUE TO A SOLENOID.
A solenoid is a cylindrical coil of wire acting as an electromagnet when carrying
electric current.

S N

The direction of magnetic field can be determined by right hand grip rule.
To produce stronger electromagnet, the coils are wound on a soft iron core.
Factors affecting strength of an electromagnet.
i) The amount of current – the more the current the stronger the
electromagnet.
ii) The number of turns of wire in the solenoid. – the more the
turns, the stronger the electromagnet.
iii) The shape of the core - A U–shaped core would produce a
stronger magnet than a bar core
iv) The length of the solenoid - the smaller the core the stronger the
electromagnetic.
APPLICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETS
They are applied in

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 i) Electric bell
ii) Circuit breakers
iii) Magnetic relay system

1. THE ELECTRIC BELL

Spring

Soft iron core

Contact screw

Soft iron
armature
Gong Hammer

~ When switch is closed, the current flows thru the circuit and the soft iron
core becomes magnetized.
~ The core attracts the soft iron armature and the hammer attached to the
armature strikes the gong.
~ At the same time the contact is broken stopping the flow of current, the
core loses magnetism and the armature returns to its original position.
~ Contact is made again and the process is repeated continuously
producing a ringing sound.
The contact screw presses onto a soft iron strip and is used to control the
frequency of make and break of the contact.

2. MAGNETIC RELAY
A relay is an electromagnetic switching device that uses a small current in one
circuit to control a heavy current in another circuit.
Pivot
Insulator

Motor Contacts Soft iron core

Heavy
current
Soft iron S
armature

~ When the switch S is closed, current flows thru the solenoid and the soft iron
core gets magnetized.
~ It attracts the soft iron armature and hence the contact closes.
~ This completes the circuit of the heavy current of the motor.

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 3. CIRCUIT BREAKERS.
A circuit breaker is a magnetic device that breaks the circuit
through an electromagnet when a certain amount of current is
exceeded. It protects electrical components from excessive flow of current.

Switch

When excess current flows through the circuit, the magnetic power of the
electromagnet increases and the switch opens (trips down) stopping current flow.
Electromagnet
After the mistake is corrected, the breaker is reset again manually and the circuit
is complete again.

Force on a current carrying conductor in a magnetic field

A conductor carrying current in a magnetic field experiences a force.

Conductor

N S

A force acts on the wire when it is placed in the magnetic field. The magnitude of
this force depends on
i) Amount of Current
ii) Magnetic Field strength
The force is maximum when the angle between the conductor and field is 900
which is the maximum angle at which the magnetic field cuts the current. As the
angle reduces, the force also reduces, when the magnetic field and the current
move parallel to each other the force experienced is zero.
In the above diagram the wire moves upwards in the direction of force.

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To determine the direction of the force, we use the Fleming’s left – hand
rule which states that “If the left hand is held with the thumb, the first finger
and the second finger mutually at right angles so that the First finger points in
the direction of magnetic Field, and the seCond finger is the direction of the
Current then the thuMb will be pointing in the direction of Motion”.
First – Field
SeCond – Current
ThuMb – Motion
If a conductor AB is placed in a magnetic field with the current flowing from A to
B, the conductor experiences a forceoutwards and hence itrolls towards the
supports. If the current or the polarity of the magnet is reversed it rolls in the
oppositite direction.

N
A

S
Supports
Conductor
EXAMPLES
1. Determine the direction of the motion below.

S N
2. The figure shows a current – carrying conductor in a magnetic field
direction of force on the wire is as shown by the arrow. State the polarity A
and B
A B
F
3. Sketch the resultant field pattern around the following current carrying
conductors and show the direction of the forces acting on the conductor.

N S
4. The figure below shows a wire in a magnetic field. A current is switched on
to flow through the wire in the direction shown. State the direction of
motion of the wire.
Magnetic field

FORCE BTN PARALLEL CONDUCTORS CARRYING CURRENT

(i) Current in same direction.
If the current is flowing into the same direction, the conductors experiences an
attraction force

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F
 (ii)
(iii) , Current in opposite direction
If the current is flowing in opposite direction, the conductors experiences a
force of repulsion.

F F

Repulsion
force
APPLICATION OF FORCE ON A CURRENT CARRYING
CONDUCTOR
They are applied in
(i) Electric motor
(ii) The moving coil loud speaker
1. ELECTRIC MOTOR
This is a device that converts electrical energy to rotational KE.
Rotation

B C

N S
A
D
+ -
Commutators

Carbon brushes

The current enters and leaves the coil through a split copper rings called
commutator made of two halves.
Carbon brushes press slightly against the commutator and are connected to
battery terminals.
According to Fleming’s left hand rule when a current is switched on, side AB
experiences a downward force and CD an upward force. The coil rotates in an
anticlockwise direction until it reaches its vertical position with side AB down and
CD up.

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In this position the brushes touch the space between the two halves of the split
rings, cutting off the current flowing in the coil consequently no force acts on side
AB and CD. The coil is carried past this position due to its initial momentum. As
it turns the two split rings exchange brushes. The direction of current thru the
coil is reversed and consequently the direction of force on each side of the coil
change ie AB is now on the right hand side and it experiences an upward force
while CD is now on the left side and experience a downward force. This process
is continuous and the coil ABCD will keep on rotating in anticlockwise direction as
long as the current is flow through it.
NOTE;
~ If the terminals of the battery are interchanged the direction of
rotation reverses (ie the coil rotates clockwise).
~ Side AD and BC do not experience any force since they are parallel
to the direction of magnet field.

The speed of rotation of the motor can be increased by

i) Increase the number of turns in the coil.
ii) Using a stronger magnet.
iii) Winding the coil on a soft iron core.

2. THE MOVING COIL LOUD SPEAKER

It is used to convert electric energy to sound energy.
It consists of a cylindrical permanent magnet and a speech coil positioned in the
narrow gap between the poles of a magnet such that it can move back and forth.

Flexible Diaphragm
S

Speech Coils

When a person speaks from a microphone the sound is transferred to the speech
coil of the loudspeaker as a varying current. Since the speech coils cuts magnetic
field at right angle, a varying force corresponding the varying current acts on the
coil in accordance with Fleming’s left hand rule. This causes the speech coil to
move inward and outwards vibrating at the same frequent as the current in it.
This sets the large mass of air in contact with the diaphragm to vibrate
reproducing the sound.

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