A straight conductor carrying a steady current is placed in a uniform magnetic field
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Moving Charges and Magnetism · Moving Charges and Magnetism
Problem
A straight conductor carrying a steady current is placed in a uniform magnetic field. Answer the following questions about the force experienced by the conductor.
(i) Define the physical meaning of the angle θ associated with this situation.
(ii) State how the magnitude of the force on the conductor varies with the value of θ from 0∘ to 90∘.
(iii) Explain, without using any numerical calculation, why the force becomes zero at one extreme orientation and attains its maximum value at the other extreme orientation.
(iv) Describe, with reason, what happens to the magnitude of the force when the conductor is reversed so that the current direction changes by 180∘ while the magnetic field remains unchanged.