Q.A magnetic pole of a bar magnet with pole strength of 100 A m is 20 cm away from the centre of a bar magnet. The bar magnet has pole strength of 200 A m and has a length 5 cm. If the magnetic pole is on the axis of the bar magnet, find the force on the magnetic pole.
Concept understanding — Magnetic Field of a Bar Magnet
For a point far from a bar magnet (r≫l), the field can be found by analogy with the electric dipole. On the AXIS, at distance r from the centre, Baxis=4πμ0r32m, directed along m; on the perpendicular bisector (the EQUATOR), Beq=4πμ0r3m, directed opposite to m. At the same distance r from the centre, the axial field is always exactly twice the equatorial field, Baxis=2Beq. Nearer the magnet, the exact axial expression is B=4πμ0(r2−l2)22mr, which reduces to the simple 1/r3 dipole law only once r≫l.
At a general point P, neither on the axis nor the equator, the moment m is resolved (about the centre) into a component mcosθ along the position vector r (treated as an "axial" contribution) and a component msinθ perpendicular to r (treated as an "equatorial" contribution), where θ is the angle between r and m. These give Ba=4πμ0r32mcosθ (along r) and Beq=4πμ0r3msinθ (perpendicular to r); since these two contributions are mutually perpendicular, the resultant magnitude is B=4πμ0r3m1+3cos2θ, making an angle α with r given by tanα=21tanθ. This general formula correctly reduces to the pure axial result at θ=0 and the pure equatorial result at θ=90∘.
All of this comes from a single "electrostatic analogue" trick: every magnetic formula here has a matching electric-dipole formula, with the pole strength qm playing the role of charge q and the constant μ0/4π playing the role of 1/4πε0; because the underlying 1/r2 (Coulomb-like force between poles) and 1/r3 (resulting dipole field) mathematics is identical in both cases, every electric-dipole result carries straight over to magnetism.
[!TLDR] The bar magnet's dipole moment is m=qm(2l)=200×0.05=10 A m2; its axial field at r=0.2 m is B=4πμ0r32m=2.5×10−4 T, so the force on the 100 A m pole is F=qm′B=2.5×10−2 N. [!ANSWER] F=2.5×10−2 N
The bar magnet has pole strength qm=200 A m and length 2l=5 cm =0.05 m (the '5 cm length' given is taken as the full magnetic length 2l), so its magnetic dipole moment is m=qm(2l)=200×0.05=10 A m2. The external pole (pole strength qm′=100 A m) sits on the axis of this bar magnet at r=20 cm =0.2 m from its centre, so the field it experiences is the axial field, B=4πμ0r32m=10−7×(0.2)32×10=10−7×0.00820=10−7×2500=2.5×10−4 T. The force on the external pole is then, from Table 12.1's force relation F=qmB, F=qm′×B=100×2.5×10−4=2.5×10−2 N, matching the book's printed answer. [!ANSWER] F=2.5×10−2 N
Compute the bar magnet's dipole moment from its pole strength and magnetic length, use the far-field axial-field formula to get B at the external pole's location, then multiply by the external pole's own strength to get the force (F=qmB, from Table 12.1).
Forgetting that the '5 cm length' given is the full magnetic length 2l (so the half-length is l=2.5 cm), or applying the external pole strength to the wrong magnet's field formula.