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Magnetic Fields

F = BIl sinθ and measuring magnetic flux density

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 3

Overview

Recall questions on the equation with every symbol, why only the length inside the field counts, the effect of the angle, the current balance experiment and what is plotted, what the gradient gives, and worked force and flux density calculations.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Describe the apparatus used to investigate the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field.

Key term

Express the tesla in SI base units.

Numbers

A wire of length 0.080 m carrying 2.5 A lies at 30° to a field of flux density 0.40 T. Calculate the force on it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    State the equation for the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field, defining every symbol and its unit.

    Model answer

    The equation is F = BIl sinθ. F is the force in N, B the magnetic flux density in T, I the current in A, l the length of conductor in the field in m and θ the angle between the conductor and the field.

  2. 2

    What form does the force equation take when the conductor lies at right angles to the field?

    Model answer

    It becomes F = BIl, because sin 90° = 1. That orientation gives the largest force the arrangement can produce.

  3. 3

    Define magnetic flux density.

    Model answer

    Magnetic flux density is the force per unit current per unit length on a conductor placed at right angles to the field. It is given by B = F/(Il) and is measured in tesla.

  4. 4

    Define the tesla.

    Model answer

    One tesla is the flux density that produces a force of 1 N on each metre of a conductor carrying a current of 1 A at right angles to the field. Its symbol is T.

  5. 5

    Express the tesla in SI base units.

    Model answer

    From B = F/(Il), the tesla is equivalent to kg s⁻² A⁻¹. The newton is kg m s⁻², and dividing by an ampere and a metre cancels the metre.

  6. 6

    Is magnetic flux density a scalar or a vector, and what fixes its direction?

    Model answer

    It is a vector. Its direction is the direction in which a free north pole would be pushed, running from north to south outside a magnet.

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