VELAMMAL VIDHYASHRAM

MAMBAKKAM

ALL INDIA SENIOR SCHOOL

CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION
PHYSICS
INVESTIGATORY PROJECT REPORT
2023– 2024
TANGENT GALVANOMETER

MADE BY:
NAME : BARATH.KM
REG NO:
GRADE : 12
SEC : B
GROUP : CS-MATH
 BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that this PHYSICS Investigatory Project on

the topic TANGENT GALVANOMETER has been successfully

completed by BARATH .KM of class XII COMPUTERSCIENCE

Reg .no at Velammal Vidhyashram,

Mambakkam for the partial fulfilment of this project as a part of

All India Senior School Certificate

Examination-CBSE, New Delhi for the academic Year 2023 – 2024.

Date: …………………….

Signature of Principal Signature of the Guide

Name: Name:

Submitted for AISSCE 2023-2024, PHYSICS Practical

examination on ………………….

Signature of the Signature of the Internal Examiner

External Examiner
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success of any project depends largely on people associated

with it. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the
enthusiasm of all these personalities. I hereby express my
heartfelt thanks to our Senior Principal
for having given this opportunity to do the project in the physics
laboratory and for his constant encouragement. I extend my
sincere gratitude to acknowledge my sense of gratitude to my
physics teacher MS.DHANALAKSHMI for the valuable guidance
offered to me. Her wholehearted encouragement and constant
stimulant inspiration and advice enabled me to complete the
project successfully. I am also thankful to all our teachers and
Non- Teachers for their help during my course of study. I take this
opportunity to express my sincere thanks to my parents for their
encouragement and support.
 AIM

The aim of the project is to study the Earth’s magnetic field and
find its value (BH) using a tangent galvanometer .

TANGENT GALVANOMETER

TOP VIEW OF TANGENT GALVANOMETER

 INTRODUCTION

Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the

magnetic field that extends from the Earth's interior to where it
meets the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating
from the Sun. Its magnitude at the Earth's surface ranges from 25
to 65 microteslas (0.25 to 0.65 gauss).Roughly speaking it is the
field of a magnetic dipole currently tilted at an angle of about 10
degrees with respect to Earth's rotational axis, as if there were a
bar magnet placed at that angle at the center of the Earth.

Unlike a bar magnet, however, Earth's magnetic field changes

over time because it is generated by a geodynamic (in Earth's
case, the motion of molten iron alloys in its outer core). The North
and South magnetic poles wander widely, but sufficiently slowly
for ordinary compasses to remain useful for navigation. However,
at irregular intervals averaging several hundred thousand years,
the Earth's field reverses and the North and South Magnetic Poles
relatively abruptly switch places.

These reversals of the geomagnetic poles leave a record in rocks

that are of value to paleomagnetists in calculating geomagnetic
fields in the past. Such information in turn is helpful in studying
the motions of continents and ocean floors in the process of plate
tectonics. The magnetosphere is the region above the ionosphere
and extends several tens of thousands of kilometers into space,
protecting the Earth from the charged particles of the solar wind
and cosmic rays that would otherwise strip away the upper
atmosphere, including the ozone layer that protects the Earth
from harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Earth's magnetic field serves to deflect most of the solar wind,

whose charged particles would otherwise strip away the ozone
layer that protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
One stripping mechanism is for gas to be caught in bubbles of
magnetic field, which are ripped off by solar winds.

The intensity of the field is often measured in gauss (G), but is

generally reported in nanoteslas (nT), with 1 G = 100,000 nT. A
nanotesla is also referred to as a gamma (γ).The tesla is the SI unit
of the Magnetic field, B. The field ranges between approximately
25,000 and 65,000 nT (0.25–0.65 G).
Near the surface of the Earth, its magnetic field can be closely
approximated by the field of a magnetic dipole positioned at the
center of the Earth and tilted at an angle of about 10° with respect
to the rotational axis of the Earth.

The dipole is roughly equivalent to a powerful bar magnet, with

its South Pole pointing towards the geomagnetic North Pole. The
north pole of a magnet is so defined because, if allowed to rotate
freely, it points roughly northward (in the geographic sense).

Since the north pole of a magnet attracts the south poles of other
magnets and repels the north poles, it must be attracted to the
South Pole.
 TANGENT GALVANOMETER

PRINCIPAL:
The tangent galvanometer works on the principle of tangent law .

TANGENT LAW OF MAGENTISM

 The tangent law of magnetism states that the tangent
of the angle of a compass needle which is due to the
movement under the influence of magnetic field is
directly proportional to the ratio of strengths of two
 perpendicular magnetic fields

 In simpler words, the tangent of the angle made by the

moving needle under the magnetic field directly
indicates the strength of the perpendicular magnetic
fields

DEFINITION :

• Tangent galvanometer is the device which was used to

measure small amounts of electric current

CONSTRUCTION :

• The working of tangent galvanometer is based on the principle

of tangent law of magnetism.

• It consists of a coil of insulated copper wire wound on a circular

non-magnetic frame.

• It is utmost necessary that the coil wound is done in helical

arrangement otherwise, the field due to the wire will affect the
compass needle, thus inducing an error in the reading.

• This frame is mounted vertically on a horizontal base for

support.

• The coil of insulated copper wire is usually rotated on a vertical

axis passing through its centre.

• A small sized magnetic compass with a powerful magnetic

needle is made to pivote at the centre of this coil, such that it is
free to rotate in a horizontal plane. 10

• The circular scale is used to read the movement of this magnetic

needle which is divided into four quadrants, each ranging from 0°
to 90°.

• A pointer is attached to this needle at right angles, usually made

up of thin alluminium as alluminium is lighter in mass.

• The usual way of discarding possibilities of parallax is also used

i.e placing of a plane mirror below the compass needle.

WORKING :
• The instrument needle starts moving firstly under the influence
of Earth's magnetic field.

• Movement continues untill the magnetic field of earth is parallel

with the plane of coil.

• Then, on application of an uknown current, a second magnetic

field on the axis of the coil which is perpendicular to the Earth's
magnetic field is created.

• Hence the compass needle responds to the vector sum of the

two fields.

• This deflection angle is equal to the tangent of the ratio of those

two fields.

APPLICATIONS :
1. T.G. can be used to measure the magnitude of the horizontal
component of the geomagnetic field.

2. The principle can be used to compare the galvanometer

constants.

3. For calibration of secondary instruments .

APPARATUS AND MATERIALS REQUIRED

➢ Tangent Galvanometer (TG)
➢ Commutator (C),
➢ Rheostat (R),
➢ Battery (E),
➢ Ammeter (A),
➢ Key (K),
THEORY
 Tangent galvanometer is an early measuring instrument for
small electric currents.

 It consists of a coil of insulated copper wire wound on a

circular non-magnetic frame. Its working is based on the
principle of the tangent law of magnetism.

 When a current is passed through the circular coil, a

magnetic field (B) is produced at the center of the coil in a
direction perpendicular to the plane of the coil. The working
of tangent galvanometer is based on the tangent law. It is
stated as when a magnet is suspended freely in magnetic
field F and H, the magnet comes to rest making an angle θ
with the direction H such that
When a bar magnet is suspended in two Magnetic fields B and Bh,
it comes to rest making an angle θ with the direction of Bh. Let a
current I be passed through the coil of radius R, having turns N.
Then magnetic field produced at the centre of coil is ,

Let H is the horizontal component of earth’s magnetic field and

the magnetic needle comes to rest at angle 𝜃 with the direction of
H, then according Eq. (1),

radius of coil of galvanometer R, deflection 𝜃 and N, the value of H can be

calculated

PROCEDURE :
Connections are made as shown in the figure given below, where
K is the key, E the battery, A the ammeter, R the rheostat, C the
commutator, and T.G the tangent galvanometer.

The commutator can reverse the current through the T.G coil
without changing the current in the rest of the circuit. Taking the
average of the resulting two readings for deflection averages out,
any small error in positioning the T.G coil relative to the earth’s
magnetic field H. 15

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

PROCEDURE FOR PERFORMING THE

EXPERIMENT
1. Make the circuit connections in accordance with the circuit
diagram.
2. Using spirit level, level the base and the compass needle in
compass box of tangent galvanometer by adjusting the leveling
screw.

3. Now rotate the coil of the galvanometer about its vertical axis,
till the magnetic needle, its image in the plane mirror fixed at the
base of the compass box and the coil, i.e.all

4. These three lie in the same vertical plane.

5. In this setting, the ends of the aluminium pointer should read

zero-zero. If this is not so, rotate the box without disturbing the
position of the coil till at least one of the ends of the pointer
stands at the zero marks.

6. By closing the key K, the current flow in the galvanometer. Read

the both ends of the pointer. Now reverse the direction of current
by using the reversing key. When the mean values of both
deflections shown by the pointer in the two cases (i.e. before and
after reversing the current) differ by more than 1o , then turn
slightly the vertical coil until the two values agree. This will set
the plane of the coil exactly in the magnetic meridian.

7. By adjusting the rheostat, bring the deflection in galvanometer

around 45o . The deflection should not be outside the range (30o -
60o ). 16

8. Record the reading of the ammeter and the deflection of the

compass needle in the box shown by two ends of pointer on the
scale.

9. Reverse the current in the coil of galvanometer and again

record the current and deflection of needle.

10. By changing the value of current, take four or more set of

readings and plot the graph between I and tan𝜃. The graph will be
a straight line.

11. Measure the inner and the outer diameter of the coil with a
half metre scale at least three times.

OBSERVATIONS AND CALCULATIONS

Slope of straight line = BC AC
m = tanθ I
Now substitute the m in Eq. (4),
m = μ0 2πN 4π RH
Then,
H = = 7.6867 × 10−8 𝜃

RESULT
The value of earth’s magnetic field by using a tangent
galvanometer is H = 7.6867 × 10−8 T
BIBLIOGRAPHY
➢PHYSICS CLASS 12 NCERT BOOK

➢Tangent Galvanometer (Procedure):Comprehensive Physics

Activities Volume I :Laxmi Publications Pvt Ltd.

➢Tangent Galvanometer (Theory) : Comprehensive Physics

Activities Volume I : Laxmi Publications Pvt Ltd.

➢Tangent Galvanometer (Precautions and Sources of error):

Comprehensive Physics Activities Volume I : Laxmi Publications
Pvt Ltd.

➢Galvanometer:
http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Electrical_Measurem
ents/ Tangent_Galvanometer/Tangent_Galvanometer.html

➢Galvanometer: Wikipedia, the free

encyclopediaen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanometer