Skip to content
Question of 34

Q.(a) The magnetic moments of two bar magnets are M1(vector) and M2(vector). If angle between them is theta, then write the value of resultant magnetic moment.

(b) Soft iron is used in making electro-magnets. Why?
Rajasthan RbseRajasthan Board Senior Secondary Examination 2020Subjective· 2mImportance★★★★★
0% · 0/34 Questions
🔒 Locked · start free trial →

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 →

Two magnetic moments combine like vectors (using the parallelogram law); soft iron is chosen for electromagnets because it magnetises easily but does not retain magnetism once the field is removed.

  1. Resultant of two magnetic moments: Magnetic moment is a vector quantity. If M1⃗\vec{M_1} and M2⃗\vec{M_2} are the magnetic moments of the two bar magnets with an angle θ\theta between them, their resultant is found by the parallelogram law of vector addition, exactly as for combining two vectors: M=M12+M22+2M1M2cos⁡θM=\sqrt{M_1^2+M_2^2+2M_1M_2\cos\theta}
  2. Why soft iron is used for electromagnets: An electromagnet must become strongly magnetised when current flows through its coil, and must lose its magnetism almost completely the instant the current is switched off (otherwise it would behave like a permanent magnet and could not be controlled). Soft iron is ideal for this because:
  • It has high magnetic permeability, so it gets strongly magnetised even by a relatively weak magnetising field (produced by the coil current).
  • It has very low retentivity (residual magnetism) and low coercivity, meaning it retains almost no magnetism once the external field (coil current) is removed. …

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.