A rectangular conducting loop of total resistance is connected to an ideal battery of…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · AP · Physics 2: Algebra-based · Electric Circuits · Electric Circuits
Problem
A rectangular conducting loop of total resistance 2.0Ω is connected to an ideal battery of emf ε through a single-pole switch. The switch is closed at time t=0s, allowed to remain closed for several seconds so that a steady current is established, and then opened again at time t=t1. Assume the connecting wires have negligible resistance and ignore any inductive effects.
(a) Describe qualitatively what happens to the magnitude of the current in the loop during the intervals 0<t<t1 and immediately after t=t1.
(b) Using appropriate physical reasoning, determine the numerical value of the steady current that existed just before the switch was opened if ε=12V.
(c) After the switch is opened, do the mobile charge carriers inside the loop instantaneously come to rest? Explain your answer in terms of the electric field inside the conductor.
(d) If, instead of opening the switch, the battery were suddenly replaced by a different battery of the same internal construction but half the emf, describe how the current would change in the moments immediately following the replacement and after a new steady state is reached.