ELECTROMAGNETISM

PHYSICS
Magnetic Effect of A Current

➔ Electromagnetism = The magnetic effect produced by a current

➔ A current-carrying conductor produces a magnetic field around it – resulting
magnetic field lines form concentric circles around the wire

➔ Circle with a dot shows that the current is moving out of the plane(towards you)
➔ Circle with a cross shows that the current is moving in to the plane(away from you)

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Right-hand Grip Rule

*Not left hand

➔ Gripping the wire with the right hand

- thumb points in the direction of the (conventional)
current flow
- fingers point in the direction of the magnetic field
around the wire
➔ The direction of the magnetic field is reversed when the
direction of the current is reversed
➔ The strength of the magnetic field due to a long, straight
current-carrying wire increases with:
- decreasing distance from the wire (as indicated by magnetic field lines near
the wire being closer together)
- increasing current in the wire

Magnetic Field Pattern Around a Flat Coil

➔ The magnetic field at the centre of the coil is

stronger (as indicated by magnetic field lines
being closer together) compared to at the
sides of the coil
➔ The strength of the magnetic field due to a
flat coil increases with increasing current
➔ Right-hand grip rule
- Thumb points in the direction of the magnetic field at the centre of flat coil
- Fingers point in the direction of the current flow through the wire

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Magnetic Field Pattern Around a Solenoid

➔ Solenoid
- made of many turns of flat coil together as
a loop of wire
- the resultant magnetic field resembles that
of a bar magnet
- acts like a magnet which has two poles,
and can be used as an electromagnet
➔ The magnetic field is stronger inside the solenoid
(indicated by closer magnetic field lines)
➔ The magnetic field strength is almost uniform within the solenoid

*A current-carrying solenoid is called an electromagnet

➔ The strength of the magnetic field in a solenoid increases with:

- increasing current
- the number of turns per unit length of the solenoid

*Say ‘per unit length’ as the magnetic field strength of the solenoid at a point is the vector
sum of the magnetic field strengths at that point due to each individual turn

- increases when a soft iron core is placed within the solenoid – iron core
concentrates the magnetic field lines within it, i.e. the magnetic field lines
become closer to one another)

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 ➔ Right-hand grip rule:
- Thumb points in the direction of the magnetic field within the
solenoid(points to N pole)
- Fingers point in the direction of the current flow through the solenoid

*Arrow on field lines show the direction of the force on a S-pole and NOT charged particle

Applications of the Magnetic Effect of a Current(Uses of

Electromagnets)

➔ A solenoid can be made into a strong electromagnet by placing a soft iron bar in it
and passing a current through the coil

Circuit Breaker

➔ Safety device that switches off the electric supply when excessive current flows
through the circuit
1) Terminals T1 and T2 are connected to the live and neutral wires respectively
2) When the current is within the limit:
- Solenoid’s magnetic field is not strong enough to attract the soft iron latch
- Interrupt point remains closed and the circuit is closed
3) When there is a sudden surge in current (e.g. short circuit or overloading):
- Solenoid becomes a very strong electromagnet that attracts soft iron latch
- Spring is released which pushes the safety bar outwards
- Interrupt point is now open and the circuit becomes open
4) Circuit breaker can be reset by pushing the safety bar button after fault is repaired

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Magnetic Relay

➔ Device used to control the switch of another circuit

➔ Has at least 2 circuits
➔ Input circuit can be used (with a very small
current) to control the switches of other output
circuits which require a higher, more
dangerous current / voltage, without any direct
electrical contact between the two circuits

Electric Bell

1) Circuit is closed when bell button is pushed

2) The magnetised electromagnet attracts the soft
iron armature → hammer to strike the gong
3) Circuit is broken as soon as hammer moves
towards the gong
4) The electromagnet loses its magnetism and the
springy metal strip pulls back the armature and
closes the circuit again
5) The cycle is repeated as long as the bell button is pushed

Force on a Current Carrying Conductor

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 ➔ Motor effect = A current-carrying conductor experiences a force, when it is placed
within the influence of an external magnetic field (i.e. a magnetic field that is NOT
due to the current in the conductor)

*Conditions for particle to experience a force in a magnetic field

- Particle must be charged

- Particle must be moving

Experiment to Show the Force on a Current-carrying Conductor

➔ Apparatus
● Stiff wire
● Strong permanent magnet
● 9 V dry cell
● Switch
● Insulated copper wires
➔ Procedure
1) Bend a stiff wire ABCD into the shape of a swing
2) Connect it to the copper wires, dry cell and switch to form a circuit
3) Place the S pole of the magnet over part of the wire BC
4) Switch on the current and observe the direction in which the wire swings
5) Reverse the direction of the current by switching the polarity of the dry cell
6) Invert the magnet so that the pole above the wire swing is now the N pole.
Repeat step 3. Note the direction in which the wire moves
➔ Observations

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 - With the current flowing in the direction A → B → C → D, the wire swings
outwards from the magnet
- If the current is reversed, the wire swings in the opposite direction
- If the magnet field is reversed, the wire swings outwards again
➔ Why a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field experiences a force
- The magnetic fields of the magnet and the conductor (e.g. wire) interact
- The interaction of the two magnetic fields causes a force to act on the
conductor (from the region with a stronger field to the region with a weaker
field)

➔ The following conclusions can be made from the experiment:

- Increasing the current and / or magnetic field strength of the magnet
produces a larger swing
- Reversing the direction of current or polarity of magnet causes the wire to
swing in the opposite direction

*Reversing BOTH the direction of current AND polarity of magnet does not change the
direction of swing

Fleming’s Left Hand Rule

➔ When placed at right-angles to one another

- Thumb (of the left hand) represents the
direction of the force on the
current-carrying conductor
- First finger (of the left hand) represents
the direction of the external magnetic
field

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 - Second finger (of the left hand) represents the direction of the current in
the conductor
➔ The direction of the force is reversed when:
- the direction of the current is reversed
- the direction of the magnetic field is reversed

Answering Technique

1) State by Fleming’s Left Hand Rule

2) State that the forefinger represents the direction for the magnetic field
3) State that the middle finger represents the direction of the current
4) State that the thumb will represent the direction of force induced on the rod, which
is into/out of the plane of the paper, when all three fingers are placed at right angles
to each other as the magnetic fields of the magnet and the current interact with
each other to produce a resultant force

*No kinks when wire is placed in between – smooth bend e.g

Force on a Beam of Charged Particles in a Magnetic Field

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 ➔ When a beam of positive / negative charges enters the magnetic field region, the
charges experience a force perpendicular to their direction of motion.
➔ Hence the beam is deflected in a circular path, as the force changes only the
direction (and not the speed) of the charges

*Particle moving faster will have a larger radius of curvature due to greater inertia to
change direction

*Conditions for particle to experience force in a magnetic field

● It must be charged
● Must not be moving parallel to the magnetic field lines

Simple D.C (Direct Current) Motor

➔ Why a current-carrying coil in a magnetic field

experiences a turning effect
1) The magnetic fields of the magnet and the
current carrying coil interact with each other
2) Interaction of the two magnetic fields causes
a pair of equal and opposite forces to act on

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 opposite sides of the coil (ie. sides AB and CD in the diagram on the right)
3) Produces a resultant moment on the coil about the axis PQ

*Centre of the coil is called axle

➔ The d.c. (direct current) motor

- Used commonly in toy cars, DVDs
and hard disk drive
- Energy in chemical potential
store of battery is transferred
electrically by an electric current
to increase the energy in the
kinetic and gravitational potential
stores of the coil

*Short circuit occurs if carbon brushes are in contact with commutator at same time

Components in a D.C Motor

● Rectangular coil connected in series to a battery and rheostat rotates about axis PQ
● Rheostat
- Purpose: To control the speed of rotation of motor by controlling the
amount of current flow

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 - Resistance is initially set to maximum before closing the switch so as to
prevent a large current from flowing in the low resistance coil which might
overheat the coil
- Its resistance is slowly decreased to increase the current to enable the coil to
rotate faster
● Permanent magnets
- Provide the magnetic field required for the coil to experience a force
● Split-ring commutator(rotates with the coil)
- Purpose: To reverse the direction of the
current in the coil every time it passes the
vertical position (whenever the
commutator changes contact from one
brush to another)
- Ensures that the coil always turns in the
same direction, so that the forces acting
on the sides of the coil continue to provide
the same turning effect
- Otherwise, the coil will stop turning at the
vertical position if the current is not cut off
(the forces will not provide a turning effect at that position, as the resultant
moment at the vertical position is zero)

*Allows the split rings to switch carbon brushes

*Current flowing through the part of the coil closest to a specific pole of the magnet
remains the same → direction for the force acting on part of the coil closest to a specific
pole of the magnet remains the same → spins in the same direction

● Two carbon brushes(pressing lightly against the commutator)

- Purpose: To ensure good electrical contact between the circuit and the coil
- Carbon is a good electrical conductor
- Brushes minimise energy transfers to the split-ring commutator due to
friction
➔ How a d.c. motor works:

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 1) A pair of equal and oppositely-directed forces act on both sides of the coil to
provide a turning effect on the coil about axis PQ
2) When the coil reaches the vertical position, the current is cut off as the
split-ring commutator is not in contact with the carbon brushes (due to the
gap)
3) However, the inertia of the coil causes it to move slightly past its vertical
position
4) This reverses the current direction in the wire and the coil continues to turn
in the same direction
➔ To increase the turning effect of the coil:
- insert a soft iron core or cylinder in the coil(to concentrate the magnetic
field lines to make the magnetic field stronger)
- increase the strength of the permanent magnets
- increase the number of turns per unit length on the coil

*Use battery with higher voltage, increase thickness of wire to decrease resistance

➔ Thus in practical d.c. motors, the coil is usually made up of hundreds of turns of wire
with a soft iron core at the centre

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