A rigid L-shaped copper conductor consists of two straight arms

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences

Problem

A rigid L-shaped copper conductor

A B C

consists of two straight arms,

A B

and

B C

, each of length

0.20\,\text{m}

and joined at right angles at

B

. The arm

A B

is along the positive

x

-axis while

B C

is along the positive

y

-axis. The conductor carries a current of

15\,\text{A}

from

A

C

(through

B

). A uniform magnetic field of magnitude

0.40\,\text{T}

is directed along the positive

z

-axis. (i) Determine the magnitude and direction of the magnetic force on each arm

A B

and

B C

separately. (ii) By vector addition, obtain the magnitude and direction of the net force acting on the entire L-shaped conductor. (iii) If the mass of the conductor is

50\,\text{g}

, calculate the magnitude of its initial acceleration, neglecting any other forces except gravity and the magnetic forces found above. State the direction of this acceleration relative to the coordinate axes.

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