Unit 9: Magnetism and

electromagnetism
Fru V. Akuma

[email protected]
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Practical 2: Magnetism & electromagnetism
➢ Memo
➢ Follow-up
• Magnetic poles and a stronger electromagnet (on display)
• Using an electric circuit board (hands-on student activity)
What do you think?
1. How are magnetic poles like electric charges, and how are they different?
2. Why are most materials not magnetic?
3. Are the earth's geographic and magnetic poles swapped?
4. How does the earth’s magnetic field protect us?
5. How does the motor in a fan, shaver, or hair dryer work?
6. How is electricity produced using magnetism?
7. How does your neighbourhood transformer work?

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This lecture will help you understand:
1. Magnetic poles
2. Magnetic fields
3. Magnetic domains
4. Electric currents and magnetic fields
5. Electromagnets
6. The earth’s magnetic field
7. Magnetic forces on moving charges
8. Electric motors
9. Generators and alternating current
10.The transformer

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 Magnetic poles
• All magnets have two poles: a north seeking pole (North pole) and a south
seeking pole (South pole).
• Unlike charges, magnets do not exist in isolation. A positive and a negative
charge can be isolated. A north and a south pole cannot be separated:

• Similar to charges, unlike poles attract while like

poles repel.
• If a north pole on one magnet faces the north
pole of another magnet, the two magnets will
repel.
• If a south pole is brought closer instead, the two
magnets will attract.
Magnetic fields
• A magnetic field is a region of space where a magnet or a ferromagnetic
material experiences a magnetic force (an attraction or a repulsion).
• Ferromagnetic materials have magnetic properties which is why they
experience magnetic forces. These materials are made up of Iron (Fe),
Nickel (Ni) and Cobalt (Co).

• If you sprinkle iron filings on a piece of paper on

top of a magnet, the filings trace out an orderly
pattern of lines that surround the magnet.

• In essence, iron filings indicate the magnetic

field lines around a magnet.

• However, they do not indicate the direction of

the magnetic field.

• By convention, the direction of a magnetic field outside the magnet is

from the north pole to the south pole.
• .

• Magnetic compasses can be used to determine the

direction of a magnetic field.
• A compass is a tiny magnet.
• Notice that the red part of the compass (N) is
repelled by the north pole of the large magnet
while it is attracted by the south pole.
• The compass aligns itself with the magnetic field at
its position in the field.
• If the compass is not in alignment, it experiences
forces on both ends that pull the ends such that
they get aligned with the magnetic field.
• By convention, the direction of a magnetic field
outside the magnet is from the north pole to the
south pole.
Magnetic domains
• A magnetic field is produced by the motion of electric charges.
• Do not confuse it with an electric field. As electric field is produced by
charges whether they are in motion or at rest.
• Every material is made up of atoms that consist of charges (protons and
electrons).
• The electrons of any material are always in motion, which means they
create magnetic fields.
• But why are most materials not magnetic if their electrons are in motion
and creating magnetic fields?
• Electrons spin about their own axis while revolving around the nucleus of
the atom (like the earth spins to give us days and nights while revolving
around the sun to give us years).
• When electrons spin in the same direction, they reinforce each other’s
magnetic field. This creates a stronger magnet.
• If they are spinning in opposite directions, they cancel each others
magnetic field.
• Magnetic domains are clusters of atoms that are aligned in the same
direction to produce a strong magnetic field within the cluster.

• As shown in the diagram (top), each cluster has its own

direction.
• This direction is determined by the spin of the electrons in
the atoms found in that particular cluster.
• This means the net magnetic field of the whole material is
weak and almost zero.
• But if you keep moving a permanent magnet over the
clusters, you can make the cluster to align in such a way that
matches the magnetic field of the permanent magnet.
• As shown in the figure, the clusters are aligned at the
bottom.
• This is why if you use a magnet to pick up iron nails, other nails get
attracted to the nail and not only the magnet itself.
• This happens because the attracting nail is magnetised (its domains are
aligned) which makes it behave like a magnet and attract ferromagnetic
materials.
• If you remove the magnet however, the iron loses its magnetic property as
its domains return to their natural unaligned state.
Electric currents & magnetic fields
• Remember that current is a flow electric charges while a magnetic field is
produced by moving charges.
• Thus, an electric current produces a magnetic field around its wire.

• To determine the direction of the magnetic field, grab the current carrying
conductor with your right hand thumb pointing in the direction of the
current. Your fingers curl in the direction of the magnetic field.
• In many instances, the current is going into the page (x) or out of the page
( · ) [Think of it as the front and back of an arrow, with the point coming up
and the tail feathers going into the page]
Electromagnets
• An electromagnet is a type of magnet whose magnetic field is produced by
current. Increasing the current increases the magnetic field.
• This type of magnet is found in doors and gates that use electricity to lock
up. Notice that there are two magnets that hold on to each other when
the door locks.
• To unlock the door you have to alter the flow of current by using a tag or
entering a code so that the magnetic force is cut.
• High speed trains also use electromagnets to avoid making contact with
the railway track which reduces friction.
• The electromagnet also creates a repulsive force at the back of the train
which pushes it forward, and an attractive force in the front which also
pulls the train forward.
• Such trains can move at speeds of 500 km/h!
The earth’s magnetic field
• The earth consists of a core that is made up of iron and nickel. Remember
that iron and nickel are ferromagnetic materials.
• The outer core of the earth is a hot liquid that flows. This flow creates an
electric current that sets up the earth’s magnetic field.

• Notice that the geographic and

the magnetic poles are
swapped?
• In actual fact, the geographic
directions were, by convention
decided based on the behavior
of compasses.

• The north end of the magnetic is attracted to the south pole of another
magnet. Since we say that the north pole of a magnet points to the north
pole, the Earth’s geographic north pole must be its magnetic south pole.
• People read a compass north pole as “I’m facing North”. Thus it was
decided to let the Earth north pole be a south pole of a magnet to avoid
confusion.
 Magnetic forces on moving charges
• Note that for a non contact force to be exerted between interacting
objects, the objects have to produce the same kind of field.
• If you think of the electrostatic force, you need to have two charges. Each
charge creates its own electric field and when the fields interact, the
charges exert forces on each other.
• Similarly, you need two objects with magnetic fields in order for them to
experience a magnetic force when the two fields interact.
• Remember that a moving charge, an electric current, produces a magnetic
field.
• This means that if charges move near a permanent magnet, they will
experience a force.
• To determine the direction of the force acting on a positive charge, use
right hand rule, by orientating your right hand as follows.

• Thumb: points in the direction of the

movement of a positive charge; In the
Direction of current.
• Fingers: point in the direction of the
magnetic field (from North to south).
• Palm: faces the direction of the force
acting on the moving charge.
• Because current is the flow of positive
charges by convention, this is how you
must also orientate your hand to find
the direction of the force acting on it.
• Note that the current is in the opposite
direction to the electron beam.
• In this case the force on the electron
beam would be upwards.
• These deflections of charges are important for various reasons.
• Old televisions deflected electrons to various areas on the inside of the
screen to produce images.
• Also, the sun emits charged particles into space known as solar winds.
These particles could land on earth and destroy all life.
• However, because of the earth’s magnetic field, these charges are
deflected away from us. At the poles they produce auroras.
Electric motors
• An electric motor is a device that converts electrical energy into
mechanical energy in a form of a rotation.

• You can see that the current flows into the

page (x) near the South pole and out of the
page ( · ) near the North pole.
• Remember that the magnetic field is from
the North to the South pole. In this
diagram, it is from left to right.
• Using the right hand rule shows that the
force on the left of the coil is downwards
while it is upwards on the right.
• Motors are designed to have a split ring commutator that reverses the
current flowing through the coil after every half cycle.
• This is done to avoid entanglements by letting the coil rotate freely while
the graphite or metal brush contacts and the batteries remain still.
• The brush contacts are used to conduct the current from the wires to the
coil through the commutators.
• Motors are common in many households. They include fans and
hairdryers. Many devices that use electricity to rotate have motors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Br9FWaD45E
Electromagnetic induction
• Just as current produces an electromagnet, a magnet can be used to
create current.
• Michael Faraday discovered that a current is produced by moving a
magnet into and out of a coil of wire.
• He discovered that if there is relative motion between the magnet and the
coil, a current is produced in the coil.
• He also noticed that the magnitude of the induced voltage (and thus
current) depended on three things:
– The higher the relative velocity, the greater the induced voltage.
– The higher the number of windings, the greater the induced voltage.
– The stronger the magnet, the greater the induced voltage.
• As shown in the diagram, the voltage doubles as you move to the right
because the number of windings double.
• Similarly, doubling the relative velocity or the strength of the magnet also
doubles the induced voltage.
• Faraday’s discovery lead to Faraday’s law, which states that: the amount of
voltage induced is directly proportional to the rate at which the magnetic
field through the coil changes.
• This means that if the magnetic field takes a long time to change, then the
induced voltage is low. This is why the relative velocity needs to be high.
Generators and alternating current
• When a magnet is pushed in an out of a coil repeatedly, the direction of
the current it produces also alternates repeatedly.
• Suppose the induced current as the magnet enters the coil is to the right,
it will be to the left when the magnet is pulled back.
• Rather than moving a magnet in and out of a coil, it is more practical to
rotate the coil in a permanent magnetic field.
• As the coil rotates, the magnetic field through it changes. It is this change
that induces the voltage.
• The following diagrams show the set up that can be used to induce voltage
and how the induced voltage varies with the orientation of the coil in the
magnetic field.
• Do you remember that in a motor you provide electrical energy that gets
converted into mechanical energy in a form of rotation?
• This time it is the mechanical energy that is converted into electrical
energy that powers the light bulb as shown in the diagram on the left.
• Power stations use the same concept to generate the electricity that is
used to power our cities.
The transformer
• This is a device that lowers or increases the voltage of an alternating
current. This is because a coil of wire around a ferromagnetic material will
generate a magnetic field in that material [diagram on left]
• When the changes in the magnetic field of the material affect a second
coil of wire, voltage/current is induced in the second coil.

• As shown in the diagram, the primary coil is connected to a power source

while the second is not.
• The current flowing through the primary coil is alternating current as
shown by the symbol showing a circle with a wave.
• Because the current changes in its magnitude and direction, it means the
magnetic field that it creates changes.
• This induced magnetic field is guided to pass through the second coil by
the laminated iron core.
• Because the magnetic field changes in the second coil, it induces a voltage
in that second coil (reread Faraday’s law to understand this point).
• The coil connected to the alternating power source is known as the
primary or the input coil while the other coil where voltage is induced is
known as the secondary or the output coil.
• Remember that the magnitude of the induced voltage depends on
windings in the coil.
• This means that the transformer in the diagram in the previous slide is a
step down transformer because there are fewer windings in the secondary
coil.
• This means the secondary or output voltage will be less than the primary
one. This means the transformer has lowered the voltage to an amount
that can be handled by the device.
• If there were more windings in the second coil, you would have a step up
transformer because the output voltage would be high.
• Remember that these changes do not violate the law of conservation of
energy or in this case, power.
• Remember that power is the product of voltage and current.
• This means that the input and the output power must be equal.
• Pinput = Poutput
(Vinput)(Iinput) = (Voutput)(Ioutput)
• In a step down transformer, the voltage drops and the induced current
increases.
• In a step up transformer, the voltage increases and the current drops
• A formula used in transformers is:
𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝑽𝒑 𝑽𝒔
• = or ( = )
𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝑵𝒑 𝑵𝒔
• Suppose the transformer in slide 16 has 20 primary turns and a primary
voltage of 220V while the secondary coil has 10 turns.
• What is the output or secondary voltage?
𝑉𝑝 𝑉𝑠
• =
𝑁𝑝 𝑁𝑠
220 𝑉𝑠
• =
20 10
• Vs = 110 V.
• If the current in the primary coil is 3A, what must be the current in the
secondary coil?
• (Vinput)(Iinput) = (Voutput)(Ioutput)
• (220)(3) = (110)(Io)
• Io = 6 A.
Quarter 4 test and Module exam
• Arrangements:
➢ Date – Thursday 7 November
➢ Venue, scope, and other arrangements– TBD ASAP
• Module exam admission
➢ Semester mark* > 40 %
➢ Semester mark < 75 %

* tutorials, practicals, Quarter 3 test, and Quarter 4 test