Electricity

AC -Alternating current
 Magnetic fields
 All magnets are dipolar- That is they have
a north and a south pole

N S
S
 Magnetic fields
 Like poles repel each other
 Unlike poles attract

S N S N

Attract

S N N S

Repel
 Magnetic fields
 Like poles repel each other
 Unlike poles attract

S N S N

Attract

S N N S

Repel
 Magnetic fields
 Like poles repel each other
 Unlike poles attract

S N S N

Attract

S N N S

Repel
 Magnetic fields
 Like poles repel each other
 Unlike poles attract

S N S N

Attract

N N S

Repel
Field around magnets Top N­S Bottom N­N
Field around Earth
 Magnetic fields
 A piece of unmagnetised iron will have
magnetism induced in it when it is placed
in an external magnetic field.

S N S Iron N

As a result the magnet attracts the Iron
 Magnetic fields
 The direction of a magnetic field at a
particular point in the field is the same as
the force that would act on an imaginary
single north pole placed at that point.

S N
 Magnetic fields
 When a magnet is placed in a magnetic
field the magnetic forces causes it to align
with that field. The north end of the
magnet pointing in the direction of the field

Direction of the field

S N
 Magnetic fields
 The strength of a magnetic field is called
its magnetic field strength and is given the
symbol β. It is a vector quantity having
both strength and direction.
 Magnetic fields
 It is a measure of the force acting on an
imaginary north pole placed at a point in a
magnetic field. We will consider the unit
for magnetic field later. But remember a
vector must be added or subtracted
vectorially
 Magnetic fields
Vector Addition
B2
B 1

BR = B1 + B2 

Vector Subtraction: Reverse the second vector and add
­B2

BR = B1  ­ B2 

B 1
 Current in a wire
When a current flows in a wire a magnetic
field is produced around the wire.
The direction of this field is determined by
A rule called the right hand screw rule
 Right hand screw rule
Grasp the wire
in the right hand
with the thumb 
pointing in the 
direction of 
conventional 
current (+ ­> ­)
Your fingers indicate the direction 
of the field around the wire
 Current in two parallel wires
When we pass a current through two wires
That are parallel to each other we find that 
a force acts between them. The direction 
of this force is given by the right hand palm 
rule
 Right hand palm rule
Orient your right hand so that your thumb 
points in the direction of conventional current
And your finger(held straight points in the
 direction of the magnetic field, Then the 
direction of the force is the direction your 
palm is pointing
 F

i
β
 Remember
Right hand screw rule determines the direction 
of a magnetic field around a current carrying 
Wire.
Right hand palm rule determines the direction 
of a force acting on a current carrying wire
in a magnetic field
 Problem
 Determine the
direction of the force
acting between two
wires if
b. the current flows in
the same direction
c. The current flows in
opposite directions
 Same Direction
Right palm rule to find force
Thumb up
Fingers into page
Palm points left
B i

RH grip rule to determine
Diection of field
 Same Direction
Right palm rule to find force
Thumb up
Fingers out of page
Palm points right
i

Hence wires arr attracted
RH grip rule to determine To each other
Diection of field
 Opposite Direction
Right palm rule to find force
Thumb up
Fingers into page
i Palm points left
B

RH grip rule to determine
Diection of field
 Opposite Direction
Right palm rule to find force
Thumb down
Fingers out of page
Palm points right

B
i

Hence wires are repelled
RH grip rule to determine by each other
Diection of field
 Magnetic force
The size of the  magnetic force acting on 
a currrent carrying wire in a magnetic field
is found using the formula
F = Bil 

Where F = Force in newtons
            i = current in amps
    l = length of wire
           B = Magnetic field strength in Tesla
 Magnetic field strength
Magnetic field strength is measured in Tesla
The Tesla is defined as the force 
experienced by a wire 1m in length
carrying a current of 1 amp
1 Tesla = 1 Newton per amp.meter
The Tesla is often divided into smaller units
MilliTesla(10­3) and microTesla(10­6)
An older unit is the gauss = 10­4 Tesla
 Magnetic field strength
Tesla
Neutron star                                      108
Man made 560
Very strong   20
Magnetic storm on sun     1
Alnico magnets   0.01
Earths surface      5 x 10­5
Interstellar space   10­10
Smallest value in shielded room       10­14
 Magnetic force
In the equation
F = Bil 
F = B and l  are all vectors and if they are not
 at right angles to each other we need to 
consider the angle θ between them.

      F = Bil sin θ 
Magnetic force

F out of the page
i

B F = Bilsinθ
 Magnetic force
When the wire is parallel to the field θ = 0

i B

θ = 0°

F = Bilsin θ = Bilsin 0 = Bil x 0 = 0
 Magnetic force
 Force is a maximum when the current is at
right angles to the field. F = Bil
 Force is zero when the current is parallel
to the field
 Force is equal to Bil sin θ where θ is the
angle between B and the current flow
 Problem
Determine the magnitude of the magnetic 
Force, due to the earths magnetic field, on 
100m of suspended power line running east 
west and carrying 100A
Answer Field is right angles to the current 
F = Bil = 5 x 10­5 x 100 x 100 
            = 0.5 N   
 Problem
Determine the magnitude of the magnetic 
Force, due to the earths magnetic field, on 
100m of suspended power line running North 
South and carrying 100A
Answer Field is parallel  to the current 
F = Bil sin 0  = 0 N   
 Problem
Determine the magnitude of the magnetic 
Force, due to the earths magnetic field, on 
100m of suspended power line running 
North east to South west and carrying 100A
Answer Field is 45°  to the current 
F = Bil sin 45 = 5 x 10­5 x 100 x 100 sin45 N   
       = 0.5 x sin45
       =0.3536 N
 Problem
Determine the magnitude of the magnetic 
Force, due to the earths magnetic field, on 
100m of suspended power line running North 
South  but with a dip angle of 40°and 
carrying 100A
Answer Field is parallel  to the current 
F = Bil sin 0  =5 x 10­5 x 100 x 100 sin40 N   
       = 0.5 x sin40
       = 0.32 N
Solenoids
Magnets and atoms
The field around a straight 
wire is circular.
If we bend the wire
 If we bend the wire

x x x x
x x
x
x
x x
x
x x
x
x x
x x x
x x
x x
X  field into page x

. Field out of page
So the field inside the loop is out of the page
While the field outside the loop is into the 
x x x
page x
x
x
x
x
x x
x
x x
x
x x
x x x
x x
x x
X  field into page x

. Field out of page
 Solenoid

This means we get These poles are more
a North pole to the left  obvious with more turns
And south to the right
So a series of loops would result in a north 
and a south end. Such series is called a 
soleniod and the field around it is the same 
as for a magnet.
The Right hand solenoid rule is used to 
determine which end of a solenoid is the 
north end and which the south end.
Grasp the solenoid in your right hand with 
your finger in the direction of the current. 
Your thumb points to North.

N
The Right hand solenoid rule is used to 
determine which end of a solenoid is the 
north end and which the south end.
Grasp the solenoid in your right hand with 
your finger in the direction of the current. 
Your thumb points to North.

N
N
N
Any magnetic field that has a 
north and south pole is called a 
dipole field
The field around a wire is not a 
dipole and is called a non dipole 
field
Fields around solenoids are 
dipole fields
The magnetic field created by an 
electric current is called an 
electro magnetic field.
If a soft iron core is placed inside 
a solenoid it increases the 
magnetic field 1000 fold
If an iron core is placed inside a 
solenoid while it is on it becomes
a magnet.
In the same way if a piece of iron 
is stroked with a magnet it 
becomes a magnet.
 Force on moving charges
 When an electric charge is placed in a
magnetic field the field has no effect on
the charge.
 Once the charge moves in the magnetic
field it experiences a force. So the force
on an electric current is actually the force
on moving electric charges
 Force on moving charges
 The size of this force depends on the size of the
charge q, the speed of the charge v and on the
magnetic field strength B
 F = Bqv
 where F is perpendicular to v and v is
perpendicular to β
 Where v and B are not a right angles
F = Bqv sinθ
Where θ is the angle between v and B
 The direction of the force is again
determined from the RH palm rule
Where the thumb is the direction the
charge is moving( + to -) , The fingers are
in the direction of the magnetic field and
the palm is in the direction of the force.
ELECTRIC MOTORS
 Electric motors
An electric motor relies on the magnetic
force in a current carrying loop in a
magnetic field
 Electric motor
To increase the power we increase the number of
loops in the coil this increases the power of the
motor many fold
F = n x Bil
We also introduce a commutator so that we have a
smother current flowing in many coils giving a
more consistant power out of the motor
The coil is also wrapped around a soft iron core
increasing the magnetic field strength by 1000
fold
 Problem
A coil in the form of 4 cm squares consists of 20 turns and
carries 5 amps in a field of 0.8 tesla.
What is the force on each side of the coil?

Answer F = n x Bil
= 20 x 0.8 x 5 x .04
= 3.2 N