☰ خطة العام · الفيزياء (بالإنجليزية)

The solenoid, the force on a wire and parallel wires

الأسبوع 5 · الفصل الثاني (٢): الملف اللولبي ومجاله، والقوة المؤثرة على سلك يمر به تيار في مجال مغناطيسي وقاعدة اليد اليسرى لفلمنج والتسلا، والقوة بين سلكين متوازيين · 3 دروس
3

The tesla, the angle and the force between parallel wires

Physics Sec 3 Term 1, Chapter 2: pp. 36–41
GoalDefine the tesla from F = BIℓ, find an angle from a force, and calculate the force between two long parallel wires.
New words
tesla · the flux density that puts a force of 1 N on 1 m of wire carrying 1 A at right angles to the fieldparallel wires · two long straight wires side by side, each lying in the field of the otherforce per unit length (F ÷ ℓ) · the force on each metre of wire, in N/m
Explanation

Rewrite F = BIℓ sin θ as B = F ÷ (Iℓ sin θ). One tesla is the flux density in which every metre of wire that carries 1 A at right angles to the field feels a force of 1 N: 1 T = 1 N/(A·m). The same formula gives an angle, sin θ = F ÷ (BIℓ). Two long parallel wires each lie in the field of the other. Wire 2 makes the field B₂ = μ0I₂ ÷ (2πd) at wire 1, and the force on a length ℓ of wire 1 is F = B₂I₁ℓ. So the force per metre is F ÷ ℓ = μ0I₁I₂ ÷ (2πd) = 2 × 10⁻⁷ × I₁I₂ ÷ d. By Fleming’s rule, wires with currents in the same direction attract each other, and wires with currents in opposite directions repel each other. The two forces are equal and opposite, as Newton’s third law says: each wire pushes or pulls the other with the same force.

ƒForce between two long parallel wires
F ÷ ℓ = μ0 I₁ I₂ ÷ (2π d) = 2 × 10⁻⁷ × I₁ I₂ ÷ d
I in amperes, d in metres, F ÷ ℓ in N/m
Worked examples
A wire 0.3 m long carries 2 A at right angles to a field and feels 0.12 N. B = F ÷ (Iℓ) = 0.12 ÷ (2 × 0.3) = 0.2 T.
A wire 0.2 m long carries 5 A in a field of 0.3 T and feels 0.15 N. sin θ = F ÷ (BIℓ) = 0.15 ÷ (0.3 × 5 × 0.2) = 0.15 ÷ 0.3 = 0.5, so θ = 30°.
CurrentsForce between the wires
same directionattract
opposite directionsrepel
Two long parallel wires 0.02 m apart carry 4 A and 6 A in the same direction. F ÷ ℓ = 2 × 10⁻⁷ × 4 × 6 ÷ 0.02 = 2.4 × 10⁻⁴ N/m, and they attract. On 1.5 m of wire the force is 2.4 × 10⁻⁴ × 1.5 = 3.6 × 10⁻⁴ N.
Class activity

Paper only, never with real wires and cells. Draw two long vertical wires side by side, both with the current upward. Use the right-hand rule to find the direction of the field of the right-hand wire at the left-hand wire (write “into the page” or “out of the page”). Then use Fleming’s left-hand rule on the left-hand wire to decide whether the force is towards or away from the other wire. Repeat with the current of the right-hand wire reversed.

Practice
1
A wire of length 0.25 m carries 4 A at right angles to a field and feels a force of 0.5 N. Find B in tesla.
2
Two long parallel wires 0.1 m apart carry 25 A and 15 A in the same direction. Find the force per metre.
3
Two long parallel wires carry currents in the same direction. Do they attract or repel?
4
Two long parallel wires 0.04 m apart carry 8 A each, in opposite directions. Find the force per metre and the force on 2.5 m, and say whether they attract or repel.