Q.Find the force acting on a current carrying conductor in a uniform magnetic field. Using it, find the force between two parallel current carrying conductors.
You're viewing a preview — the full solution, concept, methods & PYQ mapping are locked.
Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →The magnetic force on a current-carrying wire comes from summing the Lorentz forces on its individual drifting charges, giving F = BIL sin(theta); applying this to a wire sitting in the magnetic field created by a second parallel wire gives the mutual force law between them.
Force on a current-carrying conductor in a uniform field:
A current I in a wire of length L can be thought of as many charge carriers each moving with drift velocity v_d. The magnetic force on a single carrier of charge q is q v_d x B. Summing over all N such carriers in the wire (with I = n A e v_d, etc.), the total force works out to:
F = I L x B, with magnitude F = B I L sin(theta)
where theta is the angle between the current direction (along the wire) and B, L is the length of wire in the field, and the direction of F is given by the right-hand (or F = IL x B) rule.
Force between two parallel current-carrying conductors:
Consider two long, straight, parallel wires separated by distance d, carrying currents I1 and I2.
Wire 1 produces a magnetic field at the location of wire 2 (a distance d away) of magnitude (from Ampere's law for a long straight wire):
B1 = mu0 I1 / (2 pi d)
This field is perpendicular to wire 2, so the force on a length L of wire 2 (using F = BIL sin theta with theta = 90 degrees) is:
…
Unlock everything free for 14 days
- Full step-by-step solutions
- Concept-first explanations
- Methods, shortcuts & mistakes
- PYQ mapping + timed mock tests
Full access for 14 days. No credit card required.