The Biot-Savart Law

AP Physics C

Biot-Savart sounds like Leo Bazaar
Biot & Savart produced an equation that gives the
magnetic field at some point in space in terms of
the current that produces the field.
a wire carrying steady current I, the
magnetic field dB at some point P has
the following properties:
The vector dB is to both ds
(direction of I) & to the vector r
directed from the element ds to the
point P.
The magnetic field wraps in circles
around a wire. The direction is found
using the right-hand rule.
Thumb of right hand in the direction
of the current, fingers curl in the
direction of B. Field at any point is
tangent to curl

dl
I
1. Which drawing below shows the correct
direction of the magnetic field, B, at the point P?

A. I.
B. II.
C. III.
D. IV.
Direction of Magnetic Field
I II III IV V
i i i i
P P P P P
i
B
B
B into
page
B into
page
B into
page
The magnitude of dB is inversely
proportional to r
2
, where r is the distance
from the element ds to the point P.
The magnitude of dB is proportional to the
current I and to the length ds of the
element.
The magnitude of dB is proportional to sin u,
where u is the angle between the vectors ds
and r.
Biot-Savart law:


To determine the total magnetic field B at some
point due to a conductor of specified size, add
up contribution from all elements ds that make
up the conductor (integrate)!
( )
2
o
r 4
s ds I
dB


=
u in

0
= permeability constant
exactly m/A T 10 4
7


t
Magnetic Field of a long straight wire
Consider a thin, straight wire
carrying a constant current I along
the y axis. To determine the total
magnetic field B at the point P at a
distance R from the wire:
Let ds = dx, then dssin u becomes
dxsin u.
The contribution to the total
magnetic field at point P from each
element of the conductor ds is:

2
o
r
sin dx
4
I
dB

=
Express r in terms of R and x.

Express sin u in terms of R and r.






( )
2
1
2 2
x R
R
r
R
sin
+
= =
( )
2
1
2 2 2 2 2
x R r x R r + = + =
} } }

=
2
o
2
o
r
sin dx
4
I
r
sin dx
4
I
dB
( )
( )
( ) ( )
} }
}

=
+

=
+

=
2
3
2 2
o
2
3
2 2
o
2
1
2 2
2 2
o
x R
dx
4
R I
x R
dx R
4
I
B
x R
R
x R
dx
4
I
B
From the table of integrals:

( ) ( )
}
+
=
+
2
1
2 2 2
2
3
2 2
x R R
x
x R
dx
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
| |
R 4
I 2
1 1
R 4
I
R 4
I
B
R 4
I
B
R
R
R 4
I
B
x R
x
R 4
R I
x R R
x
4
R I
B
o o o
2
1
2
2
1
2
o
2
1
2
2 2
1
2 2
o
2
1
2 2
2
o
2
1
2 2 2
o


= +


=
(

=
(
(

=
(
(

=
(
(

=
(
(

=


R 2
I
B
o


=
Find B for a conductor of length l






From the table of integrals:
( )
( )
( ) ( )
} }
}
} } }

=
+

=
+

=
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
R
2
3
2 2
o
2
3
2 2
o
2
1
2 2
2 2
o
2
o
2
o
x R
dx
4
R I
x
dx R
4
I
B
x R
R
x R
dx
4
I
B
r
sin dx
4
I
r
sin dx
4
I
dB
( ) ( )
}
+
=
+
2
1
2 2 2
2
3
2 2
x R R
x
x R
dx
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
(
(

=
(
(

+
+
+

=
(
(

=
(
(

=
(
(

=

2
1
2 2
o
2
1
2 2
2
1
2 2
o
2
1
2
2 2
1
2 2
o
l
2
1
2 2
2
o
l
2
1
2 2 2
o
l a
l 2
R 4
I
B
l a
l
l R
l
R 4
I
B
l R
l
l R
l
R 4
I
B
x R
x
R 4
R I
x R R
x
4
R I
B
l l
( )
2
1
2 2
o
l R R 2
l I
B
+

=
Just add up all of the contributions ds to the
current, but now distance r=R is constant,
and .


Notice that . So the integral
becomes




For a complete loop, | = 2t, so
B at Center of a Circular Arc of Wire
| Rd ds =
} }
= =
| |
t

0 0
2
0
4
ds
R
i
dB B
R
i
Rd
R
i
B
t
|
|
t

|
4 4
0
0
2
0
= =
}
R
i
B
t
|
4
0
=
s d r

R
i
B
2
0

=
B at center of a full circle
Find Magnetic Field on the Axis of a
Circular Current Loop
Consider a circular loop of wire of radius R in
the yz plane and carrying a steady current I:
Note: Each element of length ds is
to the r from ds to point P.
ds 90 sin ds =
& the direction of dB
from ds is at an angle
u with the x axis.
The direction of the net magnetic field
is along the x axis and directed away
from the circular loop.

cos
x R
ds
4
I
cos
x R
ds
4
I
cos
2 2
o
2 2
o

=
=
} }
} }
} }
dB
dB
dB dB
x
( )
2
1
2 2
2 2
o
x R
R
x R
ds
4
I
+

=
} }
dB
( )
}

+

= ds
2
3
2 2
o
x R 4
R I
B
The sum of the elements of length ds
around the closed current loop is the
circumference; s = 2tR
The net magnetic field B at point P is :
( )
( )
( )
2
3
2 2
2
o
2
3
2 2
2
o
2
3
2 2
o
x R 2
R I
B
x R 4
R I 2
B
R 2
x R 4
R I
B
+

=
+

=

+

=
For large distances along the x axis from
the current loop, where x is very large in
comparison to R:
( ) ( )
( )
3
2
o
6
2
o
3
2
2
o
2
3
2
2
o
2
3
2 2
2
o
x 2
R I
B
x 2
R I
x 2
R I
B
x 2
R I
x R 2
R I
B

=
+

=
B field for Circular Loop
x
f(x)
0 3
0
1

x =
y =
R
B
x
x
0
R
i
B
2
0

=
( )
2
3
2 2
2
o
x R 2
R I
B
+

=
3
2
o
x 2
R I
B

=
Remember how to Calculate Electric Field

Either:
Coulomb's Law:
Gauss' Law
What are the analogous equations for the
Magnetic Field?
Calculation of Magnetic Field
"High symmetry"

I

Two ways to calculate the Magnetic Field:
Biot-Savart Law:
Ampere's Law
Draw an amperian loop around a system
of currents (like the two wires at right). The
loop can be any shape, but it must be closed.
Add up the component of along the loop,
for each element of length ds around this
closed loop.
The value of this integral is proportional to
the current enclosed:

Amperes Law
B

}
=
enc
i s d B
0

i
1
i
2

Amperes Law
Magnetic Field Outside a Long
Straight Wire with Current
We already used the Biot-Savart Law to show
that, for this case, .

Lets show it again, using Amperes Law:
First, we are free to draw an Amperian loop of
any shape, but since we know that the
magnetic field goes in circles around a wire,
lets choose a circular loop (of radius r).
Then B and ds are parallel, and B is constant
on the loop, so


And solving for B gives our earlier expression.
r
i
B
t

2
0
=
}
=
enc
i s d B
0

Amperes Law
}
= =
enc
i r B s d B
0
2 t

r
i
B
t

2
0
=
Magnetic Field Inside a Long
Straight Wire with Current
Calculate B inside the wire.
Draw a circular Amperian loop around the
axis, of radius r < R.
The enclosed current is less than the total
current, because some is outside the
Amperian loop. The amount enclosed is

2
2
R
r i
A
A
J
i
en
total
enc
t
t
= =
inside a straight wire
2
2
0 0
2
R
r
i i r B s d B
enc
t = = =
}

r
R
i
B
|
.
|

\
|
=
2
0
2t

r
R
~1/r
~r
B
Two cylindrical conductors each carry
current I into the screen as shown.
The conductor on the left is solid and
has radius R=3a. The conductor on
the right has a hole in the middle &
carries current only between R=a &
R=3a.
(a) B
L
(6a)< B
R
(6a)
(b) B
L
(6a)= B
R
(6a)
(c) B
L
(6a)> B
R
(6a)
(a) B
L
(2a)< B
R
(2a)
(b) B
L
(2a)= B
R
(2a)
(c) B
L
(2a)> B
R
(2a)
What is the relation between the magnetic field at R =
2a for the two cases (L=left, R=right)?
1B
1A
3a
a
3a
I
I
2a
What is the relation between the magnetic field at R
= 6a for the two cases (L=left, R=right)?
What is the relation
between the
magnetic field at R =
6a for the two cases
(L=left, R=right)?

(a) B
L
(6a)< B
R
(6a)
(b) B
L
(6a)= B
R
(6a)
(c) B
L
(6a)> B
R
(6a)
1A
Amperes Law can be used to find the field in both cases.
The Amperian loop in each case is a circle of radius R=6a in the plane
of the screen.
3a
a
3a
I
I
2a
The field in each case has cylindrical symmetry, being everywhere
tangent to the circle.
Therefore the field at R=6a depends only on the total current
enclosed!!
In each case, a total current I is enclosed.
(a) B
L
(2a)< B
R
(2a)
(b) B
L
(2a)= B
R
(2a)
(c) B
L
(2a)> B
R
(2a)
What is the relation between
the magnetic field at R = 2a
for the two cases (L=left,
R=right)?
1B
3a
a
3a
I
I
2a
For the LEFT conductor:
Once again, the field depends only on how much current is enclosed.
For the RIGHT conductor:
I
9
4
I
) 3 (
) 2 (
I
2
2
L
= =
a
a
t
t ( )
( )
I
8
3
I
) 3 (
) 2 (
I
2 2
2 2
R
=

=
a a
a a
t
t
Solenoids
We saw earlier that a complete
loop of wire has a magnetic field at
its center:

We can make the field stronger by
simply adding more loops. A many
turn coil of wire with current is
called a solenoid.
R
i
B
2
0

=
The field near the wires is still circular,
but farther away the fields blend into a
nearly constant field down the axis.
The actual field looks more like this:
Solenoids
We can use Amperes Law to calculate B
inside the solenoid.
Characterize the windings in terms of
number of turns per unit length, n. Each
turn carries current i, so total current over
length h is inh.

Compare with electric field in a capacitor.
Like a capacitor, the field is uniform inside (except near the ends), but the
direction of the field is different.
Approximate that the field is constant inside and zero outside (just like
capacitor).
inh i Bh s d B
enc 0 0
= = =
}

only section that has non-zero

contribution
in B
0
= ideal solenoid
Toroids
Notice that the field of the solenoid sticks out
both ends, and spreads apart (weakens) at the
ends.
We can wrap our coil around like a doughnut, so
that it has no ends. This is called a toroid.
Now the field has no ends, but wraps uniformly
around in a circle.
What is B inside? We draw an Amperian loop
parallel to the field, with radius r. If the coil has
a total of N turns, then the Amperian loop
encloses current Ni.
iN i r B s d B
enc 0 0
2 t = = =
}

r
iN
B
2
0
t

= inside toroid
Recall that a wire carrying a current in a
magnetic field feels a force.
When there are two parallel wires carrying
current, the magnetic field from one causes a
force on the other.
When the currents are parallel, the two wires are
pulled together.
When the currents are anti-parallel, the two wires
are forced apart.
Force Between Two Parallel Currents
F F
To calculate the force on b due to a,
a b ba
B L i F

=
d
i
a
2
0
t

=
R
i
B
t

2
0
=
d
L i i
F
b a
ba
t

2
0
=
Force between two parallel currents
B L i F
B

=
3. Which of the four situations below has the
greatest force to the right on the central
conductor?

A. I.
B. II.
C. III.
D. IV.
E. Cannot
determine.
Forces on Parallel Currents
I.
II.
III.
IV.
F greatest?