Q.What is the force on a conductor of length L carrying a current "i" placed in a magnetic field of induction B? When does it become maximum?
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →A current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field experiences a force F = BiL sinθ, which is maximum when the current is perpendicular to the field.
A current i in a conductor is a stream of moving charges. Each charge q moving with drift velocity v_d in a field B experiences a force q(v_d × B). Summing this force over all the free charges in a conductor of length L, cross-sectional area A, carrying current i = nqAv_d (n = number density of charge carriers), gives the net force on the conductor:
where θ is the angle between the direction of current flow (length vector L) and the magnetic field B. In vector form, .
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