Amperes Law

Introduction:
The goal of this experiment is to study and verify Amperes Law, learn an application for
a magnetoresistive sensor, and measure the magnetic field strength as a function of the
perpendicular distance measured of a current-carrying wire. There are 2 equations we used for
this experiment. Equation 9 (page 223) states B=((u*i)/(2*pi*r)) where B is the magnitude of the
magnetic field, i is the current, u is the constant 1.26E-6, and r is the distance to the wire.
Equation 10 is derived from equation 9 and is as follows: (B/i)=(u/(2*pi))*(1/r).
Procedure:
First we hooked up the apparatus and adjusted the current to 7.5 amps and set the gain on
the amplifier to 200 to produce an output of 9 volts. We then opened an excel sheet to record the
voltage with current flowing through the system and the voltage with an open switch. We
recorded this data on .1 mm intervals from .2 mm to 1 mm. Then did the same on .5 mm
intervals from 1 mm to 5mm, 1 mm intervals from 5 mm to 10 mm, and lastly on 5 mm intervals
from 10 mm to 50 mm. Lastly we graphed the data B/i vs 1/r.
Data:
All of the data is attached on an excel sheet.
Analysis:
The u value we calculated was different than the theoretical value. We had a percent error
of 50.17% which is too high. This could be for a couple different reasons. One such reason is
human error. When dealing with hundredths of a millimeter, it is very easy to make mistakes.
Also, it is difficult for the tools to be that precise when dealing with such small numbers.
Nevertheless, our graph showed a very linear line like we had predicted would happen.
Conclusion:
We could successfully see how the voltage changed as we changed the distance and how
that changed the magnetic field strength. Our graph looked like it was supposed to, but our
calculated u value was off from the theoretical value.