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223 Physics Lab: Magnetic Force due to a Current-carrying Wire

223 Physics Lab: Magnetic Force due to a

Currentcarrying Wire
223 & 224 Lab Overview | Return to Physics 223 Labs
Purpose
Background Material
Experiment
Objectives
Equipment and Setup
Hints and Cautions

Online Assistance
Lab Report
Template
Nudge Questions
Questions
TA Notes

Data, Results and

Graphs
Answers to Questions
Lab Manual
CUPOL Experiments

Purpose
The purpose of this lab experiment is to investigate the magnetic force of a currentcarrying wire. In
this experiment we will investigate the effects of current, length of wire and magnetic field strength
on the magnetic force.

Background
If a charged particle moves with some velocity,
experiences a magnetic force given by

, through a uniform magnetic field,

, it

(1)
where , is the charge of the particle. If the angle between the particle's velocity vector and the
direction of the magnetic field is , the magnitude of the magnetic force may be rewritten as
(2)
The direction of the magnetic force vector may then be found with the familiar righthand rule.
Notice that the magnitude of the force is a maximum when
and is identically zero when
.
Figure 1 shows two charged particles entering a uniform magnetic field
vector of each particle is given as

. The velocity

, indicating that both velocity vectors are perpendicular

to the direction of the magnetic field. Therefore the quantity

becomes
, or
in the
upward direction, for both particles. However, from Equation 1 we see that the direction of the
magnetic force depends on the charge of the particles. As Figures 2 and 3 show, the positively
charged particle experiences an upward force,
, while the negatively charged
particle experiences a downward force,

. The manifestation of these magnetic forces

is shown in Figure 1 by the upward deflection of the positively charged particle and the downward
deflection of the negatively charged particle.

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223 Physics Lab: Magnetic Force due to a Current-carrying Wire

Figure1.Twochargedparticlestravelwithsomevelocity, ,throughauniform
magneticfield, .Asthechargespassthroughthemagneticfield,eachexperiencesa
magneticforce,
,duetotheirvelocity,thedirectionandstrengthofthe
magneticfieldandtheircharge, .Notethatherethepositivechargeexperiencesan
upwardmagneticforceandthenegativechargeexperiencesadownwardforce.

Figure2.AsshowninFigure1,this
positivelychargedparticleexperiences
anupwardmagneticforce.

Figure3.AsshowninFigure1,this
negativelychargedparticleexperiencesa
downwardmagneticforce.

Figure 4 shows a segment of wire carrying a current

field,

that is located within a uniform magnetic

. The force on each charged particle is given by

(3)

where
is the drift velocity of the charged particles. The volume of the wire that exists within the
magnetic field is
, where
is the wire's crosssectional area and
is the length of wire that is
embedded within the magnetic field. If we define to be the number of charged particles per unit
volume, at any instant there are
charges within that segment of wire. Therefore from Equation
3, we can write the magnetic force on a wire of length
as
(4)
Since the current flowing in a conductor is given as

1,

the above equation becomes

(5)

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223 Physics Lab: Magnetic Force due to a Current-carrying Wire

where
is the vector length of wire that points in the direction of the current . Note that the
direction of the current is defined as the direction in which positive charges move.

Figure4.Arepresentationofchargedparticles,withsomedriftvelocity, ,flowing
throughawireofwhichaportionofitslength, ,isembeddedinauniformmagnetic
field, .Thewirehasuniformcrosssectionalarea, .Whenthechargespass
throughuniformmagneticfieldtheyexperienceamagneticforce, ,asdescribedin
thetext.Thetotalmagneticforceonthewireis
,where isthecurrentin
thewire.Here
,where isthenumberofparticleswithcharge, .
Our experimental setup is shown in Figure 5 and is described as follows. A permanent magnet
assembly, comprised of six removable horseshoe magnets, is placed on a triplebeam balance,
and the balance is then zeroed. A variable current source is connected to the current balance
assembly, which has at one end a removable wire loop etched onto a circuit board. This wire loop
is then placed into the permanent magnet assembly so the wire loop is perpendicular to the
magnetic field but is not touching the magnets. Then, when a current flows through the wire loop, a
magnetic force is created. Since the wire loop is stationary the magnetic force acts on the
permanent magnet assembly causing its weight to either increase or decrease depending on the
direction of the current and the orientation of the magnetic field. The change in the magnet
assembly's weight is due to the magnetic force given by Equation 5.

Figure5.Theexperimentalsetup.Amagneticforceiscreatedwhenacurrentpasses
throughthecircuitboardwireloop.Thisforceactsonthepermanentmagnetassembly
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223 Physics Lab: Magnetic Force due to a Current-carrying Wire

causingachangeinitsweight.Thechangeinthemagnetassembly'sweightisdirectly
proportionaltothemagneticforce.
Three parameters may be altered in this experiment, and they are as follows:
1. The length of wire may be varied by exchanging one wire loop for another.
2. The current amplitude may be varied by adjusting the output from the power supply. (The
direction of the current flow may also be altered.)
3. The strength of the magnetic field may be altered by varying the number of horseshoe
magnets in the magnet assembly. (The direction of the magnetic field may also be altered.)
As with all physics laboratory experiments, one must be careful to use the appropriate units. If all
forces (i.e., the magnetic force and weight) are measured in newtons ( ), charges in coulombs (
), and velocities in meters per second (
), then from Equation 1 the unit of the magnetic field is
given as newton per coulombmeter per second. In SI units this is known as the tesla ( ) where

(6)

If the current flow is measured in amperes (

), then the tesla unit can be shown to be

(7)

It should be noted that magnetic field strength is often given in units of the gauss ( ), where
. Table 1 shows magnetic field strengths of various bodies given in units of tesla and
gauss.

Table 1

MagneticFieldStrengthsofVariousBodies

FieldStrength
(T)

FieldStrength
(G)

Superconductingmagnet

30

3x105

Strongdemonstrationmagnet

2x104

MedicalMRIunit

1.5

1.5x104

Typicalbarmagnet

0.01

100

SurfaceoftheSun

0.01

100

0.5x104

0.5

1015

1011

FieldSource

SurfaceofEarth
Humanbrain

Footnotes
1. See Serway and Beichner, page 910.

Objectives
1. Use the magnetic force apparatus to verify that the magnetic force due to a current
carrying wire immersed in a perpendicular uniform magnetic field is proportional to each of
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223 Physics Lab: Magnetic Force due to a Current-carrying Wire

the following parameters:

A. length of the wire
B. electrical current flowing in the wire
C. magnitude of the magnetic field

Equipment and setup

(Figure 6.) The experimental setup. Note the
current in the wire is 2.26A.
(Figure 7.) Permanent magnet assembly with six
horseshoe magnets. Two of the horseshoe
magnets are on the table top.
(Figure 8.) Three of six interchangeable circuit
board wire loops. Notice the rightmost wire loop is
printed on the front and back of the circuit board,
effectively doubling the length of the wire shown
on one side. Be careful when removing and
inserting these somewhat fragile circuit boards.
(Figure 9.) A closeup of a wire loop inserted into
the permanent magnetic assembly.
(Figure 10.) The triplebeam balance.
(Figure 11.) The variable current source. See the
Hints and Cautions section for instructions on
producing a constant current.
(Figure 12.) Use the power supply's digital
ammeter to measure the current.

[Click on images to enlarge.]

10

11

12

Vernier caliper
Lab stand
Banana cords

Hints and Cautions

1. Caution!!! Do not touch the metal arms of the circuit board holder while current is flowing
through them!
2. Caution!!! Be careful with the small etched circuit boards when inserting and removing them
they can break easily!
3. Caution!!! Keep the current below 5A throughout the experiment!
4. The power supply should be set to constant current mode. To do so, turn the DC VOLTAGE
ADJUST knob fully clockwise, then adjust the DC CURRENT ADJUST knob to obtain the desired
output current.

Online Assistance
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

xxx
Adding a trendline to an Excel plot
Adding a nonlinear trendline to an Excel plot
Create plots of two data series on one graph
Fitting multiple curves (trendlines) to one data set
Clemson Physics Lab Tutorials
Measurement uncertainties
Using Excel
Graphing data using Excel

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10. Using error bars in Excel

Lab Report Template

Each lab group should download the Lab Report Template and fill in the relevant information as
you perform the experiment. Each person in the group should printout the Questions section and
answer them individually. Since each lab group will turn in an electronic copy of the lab report, be
sure to rename the lab report template file. The naming convention is as follows:
[Table Number][Short Experiment Name].doc.
For example the group at lab table #5 working on the Ideal Gas Law experiment would rename
their template file as "5 Gas Law.doc".

Nudge Questions
These Nudge Questions are to be answered by your group and checked by your TA as you do the
lab. They should be answered in your lab notebook.
General Nudges
1. How will you verify that the magnetic force is proportional to each parameter.
2. How many "experiments" must you perform to verify the relationship
3. What is the direction of ?
4. What is the direction of the current, or

5. In this experiment, what should the relationship be between the direction of

6. What is the direction of

relative to the directions of

and

and

7. How will you use the triplebeam balance to measure the magnetic force,
?
8. Is it important that the triplebeam balance be properly zeroed before the experiment
begins? Why or why not?
9. How will you insert the circuitboard wire loops into the permanent magnet assembly? Is the
orientation and position of the wire relative to the magnets important?
10. How did you measure the length of the wire? Did you measure the entire length of the
conductor?
Objective 1: Part A Nudges
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

For this part, which experimental parameters will you hold constant and which will you vary?
Which length(s) of wire will you use for this experiment?
How many magnets will you use for this experiment? Why?
What current value(s) will you use for this experiment? Remember not to exceed 5A!
What is the magnitude of the magnetic field used in this experiment?

Objective 1: Part B Nudges

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

For this part, which experimental parameters will you hold constant and which will you vary?
Which length(s) of wire will you use for this experiment? Why?
How many magnets will you use for this experiment? Why?
What current value(s) will you use for this experiment? Remember not to exceed 5A!
What is the magnitude of the magnetic field used in this experiment?
How does the magnetic field strength in this experiment compare to that of Part 1?

Objective 1: Part C Nudges

1.
2.
3.
4.

For this part, which experimental parameters will you hold constant and which will you vary?
Which length(s) of wire will you use for this experiment? Why?
Does the wire length affect the results?
How many magnets will you use for this experiment? Why?

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5. What current value(s) will you use for this experiment? Remember not to exceed 5A!

Questions
These Questions are also found in the lab writeup template. They must be answered by each
individual of the group. This is not a team activity. Each person should attach their own copy to the
lab report just prior to handing in the lab to your TA.
Describe how your observations would change if the direction of the current were in the opposite
direction.
Describe how your observations would change if the permanent magnetic assembly were
rotated 180 that is, if the direction of the magnetic field was in the opposite direction.
Show that it is only the horizontal portion of the circuit board wire that contributes to the vertical
magnetic force. In other words, show that the vertical portion of the wire does not vary the weight
of the magnet assembly.
From your results in Part C, what can be said about the relative strengths of each horseshoe
magnet?
What was the magnetic field strength of the permanent magnet assembly with all six horseshoe
magnets installed? Is this a reasonable value?
From your observations of the triplebeam balance and the current readings, show that the red
end of the horseshoe magnet is the "north" end.
Estimate the maximum possible magnetic force contributed by the earth's magnetic field,
these experiments. Assume

, to

exists in the plane parallel to the earth's surface. What can be done

with the experimental apparatus to eliminate this contribution?

Is this experimental setup sensitive enough to measure the earth's magnetic field,

? If not, what

can be done to make this measurement possible?

TA Notes
This lab was designed as a oneweek experiment. Expectations regarding the length and
quality of the written lab report should be lowered. Essentially, students should work efficiently
and quickly to solve the Objectives, and succinctly report on their findings.
Store the magnets in pairs, with N poles attached to S poles!

Data, Results and Graphs

Enter TA password to view sample data and results of this experiment (MS Excel format):

Open

Lab Manual
Enter TA password to view the Lab Manual write up for this experiment (MS Word format):

Open

CUPOL Experiments
As of now, there are no CUPOL experiments associated with this experiment.
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If you have a question or comment, send an email to Lab Coordiantor: Jerry Hester
223 & 224 Lab Overview | Return to Physics 223 Labs

Copyright 2006. Clemson University. All Rights Reserved.

Photo's courtesy Corel Draw.
Last Modified on 01/27/2006 14:25:18

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