Magnetism Forces and Field Lines

LECTURER
MR. M C ZULU
 INTRODUCTION

 For the past few chapters, we have been studying

electrostatic forces and fields, which are caused by electric
charges at rest.
 These electric fields can move other free charges, such as
producing a current in a circuit; however, the electrostatic
forces and fields themselves come from other static
charges.
 In this chapter, we see that when an electric charge moves,
it generates other forces and fields. These additional forces
and fields are what we commonly call magnetism.
 BRIEF HISTORY OF MAGNETISM
 Magnets are commonly found in everyday
objects, such as toys, hangers, elevators,
doorbells, and computer devices.
 Experimentation on these magnets shows that
all magnets have two poles: One is labeled
north (N) and the other is labeled south (S).
 Magnetic poles repel if they are alike (both N or
both S), they attract if they are opposite (one N
and the other S), and both poles of a magnet
attract unmagnetized pieces of iron.
 An important point to note here is that you
cannot isolate an individual magnetic pole.
Every piece of a magnet, no matter how small,
which contains a north pole must also contain a
south pole.
 BRIEF HISTORY OF MAGNETISM CONT.

 Earth itself also acts like a very large

bar magnet, with its south-seeking
pole near the geographic North Pole
. The north pole of a compass is
attracted toward Earth’s geographic
North Pole because the magnetic
pole that is near the geographic
North Pole is actually a south
magnetic pole.
 Confusion arises because the
geographic term “North Pole” has
come to be used (incorrectly) for the
magnetic pole that is near the North
Pole
 CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS OF MAGNETISM
 Today, magnetism plays many important roles in our lives. Physicists’ understanding of magnetism has enabled the
development of technologies that affect both individuals and society. The electronic tablet in your purse or backpack,
for example, wouldn’t have been possible without the applications of magnetism and electricity on a small scale.
 MAGNETIC FIELDS AND LINES
 A magnetic field is defined by the force that a charged particle experiences moving in this field, after
we account for the gravitational and any additional electric forces possible on the charge.

F = qv  B
 In fact, this is how we define the magnetic field B- in terms of the force on a charged particle
moving in a magnetic field. The magnitude of the force is determined from the definition of the cross
product as it relates to the magnitudes of each of the vectors. In other words, the magnitude of the
force satisfies
F = qvB sin
 where θ is the angle between the velocity and the magnetic field.
 The SI unit for magnetic field strength B is called the tesla (T) 1N
1T =
A smaller unit, called the gauss (G) is sometimes used; 1G = 10−4 T A m
 PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY: DIRECTION OF THE MAGNETIC
FIELD BY THE RIGHT-HAND RULE

 The direction of the magnetic force 𝐹Ԧ is perpendicular

to the plane formed by 𝑣Ԧ and 𝐵 as determined by the
right-hand rule-1 (or RHR-1), which is illustrated in the
Figure.
1. Orient your right hand so that your fingers curl in the
plane defined by the velocity and magnetic field vectors.
2. Using your right hand, sweep from the velocity toward
the magnetic field with your fingers through the smallest
angle possible.
3. The magnetic force is directed where your thumb is
pointing.
4. If the charge was negative, reverse the direction found
by these steps.
 EXAMPLE

An alpha-particle (𝑞 = 3.2 × 10−19 𝐶) moves through a

uniform magnetic field whose magnitude is 1.5 𝑇. The field
is directly parallel to the positive z-axis of the rectangular
coordinate system of the Figure What is the magnetic
force on the alpha-particle when it is moving
a) in the positive x-direction with a speed of 5.0 × 104 𝑚/𝑠
b) in the negative y-direction with a speed of5.0 × 104 𝑚/𝑠
c) in the positive z-direction with a speed of 5.0 ×
104 𝑚/𝑠
d) with a velocity 𝑣 Ԧ = (2.0𝑖 − 3.0𝑗 + 1.0𝑘) × 104 𝑚/𝑠?
 REPRESENTING MAGNETIC FIELDS
 The representation of magnetic fields by magnetic field
lines is very useful in visualizing the strength and direction
of the magnetic field.
 Magnetic field lines have several hard-and-fast rules:
1. The direction of the magnetic field is tangent to the field
line at any point in space. A small compass will point in
the direction of the field line.
2. The strength of the field is proportional to the closeness
of the lines. It is exactly proportional to the number of
lines per unit area perpendicular to the lines (called the
areal density).
3. Magnetic field lines can never cross, meaning that the
field is unique at any point in space.
4. Magnetic field lines are continuous, forming closed loops
without a beginning or end. They are directed from the
north pole to the south pole.
 MOTION OF A CHARGED PARTICLE IN A MAGNETIC FIELD

 A charged particle experiences a force when moving

through a magnetic field. What happens if this field is
uniform over the motion of the charged particle? What
path does the particle follow?
 Since the magnetic force is perpendicular to the
direction of travel, a charged particle follows a curved
path in a magnetic field. The particle continues to follow
this curved path until it forms a complete circle.
 Another way to look at this is that the magnetic force is
always perpendicular to velocity, so that it does no
work on the charged particle. The particle’s kinetic
energy and speed thus remain constant. The direction of
motion is affected but not the speed.
 MOTION OF A CHARGED PARTICLE IN A MAGNETIC FIELD

 In this situation, the magnetic force supplies the centripetal force mv 2

FC =
r
 Noting that the velocity is perpendicular to the magnetic field, the magnitude of the magnetic force is reduced to
F = qvB
 We can show that the velocity is the particle through the magnetic field is equal to

mv 2 qBr
qvB = v=
r m
 Based on this and Equation, we can derive the period of motion as

2 r 2 m
T= =
v qB
EXAMPLE

 A research group is investigating short-lived radioactive

isotopes. They need to design a way to transport alpha-
particles (helium nuclei) from where they are made to a
place where they will collide with another material to form
an isotope. The beam of alpha-particles (𝑚 = 6.64 ×
10−27 𝑘𝑔, 𝑞 = 3.2 × 1010−19 𝐶) bends through a 90-degree
region with a uniform magnetic field of 0.050 T.
a) In what direction should the magnetic field be applied?
b) How much time does it take the alpha-particles to traverse
the uniform magnetic field region?
EXAMPLE CONT.
❖ The direction of the magnetic field is shown by the RHR-1. Your fingers point in the direction of v,
and your thumb needs to point in the direction of the force, to the left. Therefore, since the alpha-
particles are positively charged, the magnetic field must point down.

2 m 2 (6.64 10−27 kg ) −6
T= = −19
= 2.6  10 s
qB (3.2 10 C )(0.050T )
❖ However, for the given problem, the alpha-particle goes around a quarter of the circle, so the time it
takes would be

1
t =  2.61 10−6 s = 6.5  10−7 s
4
 TASK

 A uniform magnetic field of magnitude 1.5 T is directed horizontally from west to east.
a) What is the magnetic force on a proton at the instant when it is moving vertically downward in the
field with a speed of 4 × 107 𝑚/𝑠
b) Compare this force with the weight w of a proton
 MAGNETIC FORCE ON A CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTOR

 Moving charges experience a force in a magnetic field. If these moving charges are in a wire—that
is, if the wire is carrying a current—the wire should also experience a force.
 However, before we discuss the force exerted on a current by a magnetic field, we first examine the
magnetic field generated by an electric current.
 We are studying two separate effects here that interact closely: A current-carrying wire generates a
magnetic field and the magnetic field exerts a force on the current-carrying wire.
 MAGNETIC FORCE ON A CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTOR
Magnetic Fields Produced by Electrical Currents
 When discussing historical discoveries in magnetism, we mentioned Oersted’s finding that a wire carrying an
electrical current caused a nearby compass to deflect. A connection was established that electrical currents
produce magnetic fields.
 To determine the direction of the magnetic field generated from a wire, we use a second right-hand rule. In
RHR-2, your thumb points in the direction of the current while your fingers wrap around the wire, pointing in
the direction of the magnetic field produced.
 CALCULATING THE MAGNETIC FORCE

 Electric current is an ordered movement of charge. A current-carrying wire in a

magnetic field must therefore experience a force due to the field.

FB = Ii  B sin 
if F and B are Perpendicular then
FB = Ii  B
if F and B are parallel then
FB = 0
EXAMPLE

 A wire of length 50 cm and mass 10 g

is suspended in a horizontal plane by
a pair of flexible leads . The wire is
then subjected to a constant magnetic
field of magnitude 0.50 T, which is
directed as shown. What are the
magnitude and direction of the
current in the wire needed to remove
the tension in the supporting leads?
 EXAMPLE CONT.

 Strategy
 From the free-body diagram in the figure, the tensions in the supporting leads go to zero when the
gravitational and magnetic forces balance each other. Using the RHR-1, we find that the magnetic force
points up. We can then determine the current I by equating the two forces.

w = mg
FB = IlB
mg (0.010kg )(9.81m / s 2 )
I= = = 0.39 A.
lB (0.50m)(0.50T )
TASK

 A long, rigid wire lying along the y-axis carries a 5.0-A current flowing in the positive y-
direction. (a) If a constant magnetic field of magnitude 0.30 T is directed along the
positive x-axis, what is the magnetic force per unit length on the wire? (b) If a constant
magnetic field of 0.30 T is directed 30 degrees from the +x-axis towards the +y-axis,
what is the magnetic force per unit length on the wire?
 FORCE AND TORQUE ON A CURRENT LOOP
 Motors are the most common application of magnetic force on current-carrying wires.
 Motors contain loops of wire in a magnetic field. When current is passed through the loops, the magnetic
field exerts torque on the loops, which rotates a shaft
 Once the loop’s surface area is aligned with the magnetic field, the direction of current is reversed, so there
is a continual torque on the loop.
 This reversal of the current is done with commutators and brushes.
 THE HALL EFFECT
 In 1879, E.H. Hall devised an experiment that can be used to identify the sign of the predominant charge carriers in a
conducting material. We investigate the Hall effect by studying the motion of the free electrons along a metallic strip of
width l in a constant magnetic field.
 The electrons are moving from left to right, so the magnetic force they experience pushes them to the bottom edge of the
strip. This leaves an excess of positive charge at the top edge of the strip, resulting in an electric field E directed from top
to bottom.
 The charge concentration at both edges builds up until the electric force on the electrons in one direction is balanced by
the magnetic force on them in the opposite direction.
 APPLICATIONS OF MAGNETIC FORCES AND FIELDS -MASS SPECTROMETER

 The mass spectrometer is a device that separates ions

according to their charge-to-mass ratios.
 In conjunction with gas chromatography, mass
spectrometers are used widely to identify unknown
substances. While the gas chromatography portion
breaks down the substance, the mass spectrometer
separates the resulting ionized molecules.
 This technique is used with fire debris to ascertain the
cause, in law enforcement to identify illegal drugs, in
security to identify explosives, and in many medicinal
applications.
 APPLICATIONS OF MAGNETIC FORCES AND FIELDS -MASS SPECTROMETER

 The cyclotron is a device used to accelerate

charged particles (usually protons, deuterons,
or alpha-particles) to large kinetic energies.
These particles are then used for nuclear-
collision experiments to produce radioactive
isotopes
 The inside of a cyclotron A uniform magnetic
field is applied as circulating protons travel
through the dees, gaining energy as they
traverse through the gap between the dees.
End of Lecture 12
 End of Lecture