MAGNETIC EFFECT OF A CURRENT

MAGNETIC FIELD DUE TO CURRENTS IN STRAIGHT WIRES

Electromagnetism is the study of magnetic effect of an electric current .

A current- carrying straight wire produces a circular magnetic field around it.
A plotting compass can be used to trace the circular magnetic field lines with the
compass needle showing direction.

The direction of the magnetic field depends on the direction of the flow of current .
( Apply Maxwell’s Screw Rule or Right -hand Grip Rule.)

If the flow of current is reversed, then the direction if the magnetic field will also
reverse.

The magnetic field strength is stronger nearer to the current (field lines are closer) and
gets weaker further away (field lines are further apart.)
The larger the size of the current, the stronger the magnetic field strength.
Without using a plotting of compass , there are two rules to help us relate the direction
of current the the direction of magnetic field.

Maxwell’s Screw Rule:

If the right-handed screw is turned so that its forward movement is in the same
direction as the flow of current, then its direction of rotation indicates the direction of
the magnetic field.

Right-hand Grip Rule:

Imaging gripping the straight wire with your RIGHT hand so that your thumb points
in the direction of the current. Then the fingers curl in the same direction as the
magnetic field lines

Field due to a circular coil

The field pattern is shown in the diagram below. At the centre of the coil the field
lines are straight and at right angles to the plane of the coil. The right-hand screw rule
again gives the direction of the field at any point.

Field due to a circular coil

MAGNECTIC FIELD DUE TO CURRENTS IN SOLENOIDS

When the current-carrying straight wire is wound into a coil,the current is seen
flowing upwards and downwards.
We can see two magnetic fields with two opposite field directions by apply Right-
hand Grip Rule.
The side where the current flows upwards produces a magnetic field with an
anticlockwise direction.
When the current flows downwards, it produces a magnetic field with a clockwise
direction.

If we increase the number of turns on the coil, a solenoid is formed. The magnetic
field produced by the current a in a solenoid shown below

The magnetic field is similar to that of a bar magnet.

One end of the solenoid acts like a North pole and the other end a south pole.
To know which end is the North pole and south pole:
1. Apply Right-hand Grip Rule: Imagine gripping the solenoid so that the four
fingers point in the the same direction as the current flow. The end where the
thumb is pointing is the North pole.
or 2. When viewed from any one end of the solenoid,
i. If the current flows in a clockwise direction, this end is the induced S-pole,
ii. If the current flows anticlockwise direction, this end is the induced N- pole.

The strength of the magnetic field produced in a solenoid cab be increased by:
 Increasing the size of the current.
 Increasing the number of turns per unit length of the solenoid
 Placing a soft iron core inside the solenoid.

The right-hand grip rule

APPLICATION OF THE MAGNETIC EFFECT OF A CURRENT.

Magnetic Relay
In a magnetic relay, there are two separate circuits. The first circuits uses an
electromagnet. The second circuit,which can only be switched on by the first, is
connected to an electrical device.

When the switch is closed, the current flows through the solenoid and the soft iron
core is magnetised.
The soft iron armature is attracted by the electromagnet. The top end the armature is
raised and closes the contacts of the second circuit.
The second circuit is complete and the electrical device is switched on. The advantage
of using a magnetic relay is that we can use a small current circuit to switch on a large
current circuit.
The symbols for relays with normally open and normally closed contacts are given
below

Symbols for a relay: a open; b closed

Force on a current-carrying conductor

A current-carrying wire has a magnetic field around it. If we place this in wire in
another magnetic field (using strong magnets), the two magnetic fields may interact,
and produce a force on the wire. This can be shown by the experiment set-up
displayed below.
When the power is switched on, the current, the loop is seen moving upwards. When
we reverse the direction of the flow of current, the loop is seen moving downwards.
There is a force acting on the wire segment inside the magnetic field.

Example

When we increase the current and/ or magnetic field strength (using even stronger
magnets), the loop will bend more.
The force acting on the wire is therefore proportional to the current and the magnetic
field strength.
The direction of the current, the direction of the magnetic field, and the direction of
the force acting on the loop are mutually perpendicular.
The direction of force can be determined by Fleming’s Left Hand Rule which is also
known as the Motor Rule.

FLEMING’S LEFT HAND RULE (MOTOR RULE)

Place the forefinger, second finger and thumb of your LEFT HAND mutually at right
angles.
Then ,if the forefinger points in the direction of the current, the thumb will point in
the direction of the force or motion.

Fleming’s left-hand (motor) rule

We can increase the force acting on the wire by:

1. Using a large current ,
2. Using a stronger magnetic field,
3. Using a greater length of wire inside the magnetic field.

Only the wire segment inside the magnetic field experiences the force. So the
increased segment must be inside the magnetic field.

 Force on beams of charged particles in a magnetic field

A current is a flow of electrons (can also be positive electric charges) along the
conducting wire.
When a beam of charged particles enter a magnetic field, it is deflected inside the
magnetic field by the force acting on the charged particles.
Fleming’s Left Hand Rule can be applied to determine the direction of direction of the
beam of charged particles.

When a beam negative charged particles (electrons) enters the magnetic field:
i. The flow of negative charged particle is opposite the direction of movement of
convectional current flow.
ii. Applying Fleming’s Left Hand Rule: The beam is deflected downwards in a
circular path.
When a beam of positive charged particles(protons) enters the (protons) enters
the magnetic field:
a) The flow of positively charged particles has the same direction as the
convectional current flow.
b) Applying Fleming’ Left Hand Rule: The beam is deflected upwards in a
circular path.

In both cases, if the flow of magnetic field is directed towards you, apply Fleming’s a
Left Hand Rule and you will see that the deflections are just the opposite.

FORCES BETWEEN TWO PARALLEL CURRENT - CARRYING WIRES.

When two current-carrying wires are placed parallel to each other , two situation will
arise:
 Two parallel wires with currents flowing in the SAME directions cause
ATTRACTION.

 Two parallel wires with currents flowing in the OPPOSITE direction cause
REPULSION.
D. C MOTOR
TURNING EFFECT ON A CURRENT-CARRYING COIL.
In the diagram below, a rectangular coil ABCD is placed in a uniform magnetic field.
The coil can rotate freely about the horizontal axis YY’.

When the switch is closed, the current flows point A to point D through the coil.
Apply Fleming’s Left Hand Rule on the segments AB and CD. It is found that there is
a downward force acting acting on AB and an upward force acting on CD. Thus the
coil turns in CLOCKWISE direction.
This turning effect of the current-carrying coil can be increased by :
i. Increasing the current
ii. Increasing the magnetic field strength
iii. Increasing the number of turns of the coil and
iv. Inserting a soft iron core within the coil to concentrate the magnetic field lines.

The forces acting on AB and CD produce a clockwise moment about the axis YY’.It
explain why the coil turns in clockwise direction.
To make the coil turn faster (greater turning effect), we need to increase this
clockwise moment. Since the size of the coil is fixed, we can only increase the
moment by having a greater force.

PRINCIPLE OF A D.C. MOTOR

A simple direct current electric motor (d.c motor) consist of
 two permanent magnets with circular poles (N and S),
 a coil (ABCD) connected to a split-ring commutator (X and Y are not in contact)
and
 two carbon brushes (P and Q) connected to an external battery.

The commutator (XY) will rotate when the coil rotates. The two carbon brushes are
made to press lightly against the commutator (to have contact) so that the current can
pass through.
The following diagrams below show how the coil is set into motion when flows
through it.
 When current flows from A to B and C to D through the coil, arm AB experience
a downward force and arm CD experience an upward force.
 These forces produce a turning effect and cause the coil to rotate in a clockwise
direction.

When the coil turns to the vertical 90 degree position, the split ends of the
commutator are now in alignment with the carbon brushes. The contact is broken and
the current is cut off temporarily.

However, because of its inertia,the coil will keep rotating. So arms AB and CD cross
over to the other half of the magnetic field without experiencing any turning effect
generated by the current until the commutator is in contact the carbon bushes again.
Once the commutator and the carbon brushes are in contact again, the current is able
to flow in the same direction, now from D to C and B to A. So arm DC experiences a
downward force and arm BA experience upward force.
Hence, the coil continues to rotate in a clockwise direction.
The reason for using circular magnetic poles is to have a uniform magnetic field for
the coil. Even with rotation, the distance between the arms and the poles is a constant.
The purpose of using split-ring commutator is to allow the coil to rotate in the SAME
direction by reversing the current through the arms of the coil every half-turn.
There are four ways to increase the rotating speed of the d.c motors:
i. by increasing the current ;
ii. by increasing the magnetic field strength;
iii. by increasing the number of turns of the coil and
iv. by placing a soft iron core into the coil.

TRANSFORMERS
PRINCIPLE OF A TRANSFORMER.
A transformer is a device used to VARY the voltage of an a.c supply.A transformer
transforms (changes) an alternating voltage from one value to another of greater or
smaller value
The basic structure of a transformer consists of a primary coil and a secondary coil
wound on a soft iron core.

Mutual induction
When the current in a coil is switched on or off or changed in a simple iron-cored
transformer, a voltage is induced in a neighbouring coil.The effect, called mutual
induction, is an example Switching on the current in the primary sets up a magnetic
field and as its field lines grow outwards from the primary, they cut the secondary. A
p.d. is induced in the secondary until the current in the primary reaches its steady
value. When the current is switched off in the primary, the magnetic field dies away
and we can imagine the field lines cutting the secondary as they collapse, again
inducing a p.d. in it.The induced p.d. is increased by having a soft iron rod in the coils
or, better still, by using coils wound on a complete iron ring. More field lines then cut
the secondary due to the magnetisation of the iron.
Advantages of high-voltage transmission
The efficiency with which transformers step alternating p.d.s up and down accounts
for the use of a.c. rather than d.c. in power transmission. Higher voltages are used in
the transmission of electric power so that smaller currents can be used to transfer the
energy. Advantages of high-voltage transmission of electricity include:
(i) reducing the amount of thermal energy lost in the transmission cables
(ii) allowing wires with small cross-sectional areas to be used; these are cheaper and
easier to handle than the thicker wires required to carry large currents.

High p.d.s require good insulation but are readily produced by a.c. generators
Advantages of high-voltage transmission of electricity
(i) lower power loss in transmission cables
(ii) lower currents in cables so thinner/cheaper cables can be used