A long straight horizontal conductor is placed above the pivot of a magnetic compass
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Magnetic Effects of Electric Current · Magnetic Effects of Electric Current
Problem
A long straight horizontal conductor is placed 4.0cm above the pivot of a magnetic compass. The horizontal component of Earth’s magnetic field at the location is 3.0×10−5T. Assume the magnetic field produced by the conductor is perpendicular to Earth’s field.
(i) Calculate the current that must flow through the conductor so that the magnetic field produced by it is equal in magnitude to Earth’s horizontal field at the position of the compass.
(ii) If the current is made twice this value, determine the angle through which the compass needle will deflect from the geographic north direction.
(iii) Indicate the direction of the deflection when the current flows from west to east.