University of Calgary Physics 259 Lecture 24: Magnetic Force on a Current-Carrying Wire

LECTURE 24: MAGNETIC FORCE ON A CURRENT-CARRYING WIRE

THE HALL EFFECT Section 28.3
Edwin Hall was the first to show that conduction electrons flowing through a wire in a magnetic field can
be deflected by a magnetic field in 1879. The effect is called the Hall Effect.
After a
When charges flow through a wire with drift
velocity v d⃗ in a magnetic field, they shift to one At first little while

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side due to the magnetic force.

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The build up of charge continues until the electric + −
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University of Calgary Physics 259 Lecture 24: Magnetic Force on a Current-Carrying Wire

The drift speed of the electrons can be determined by moving the wire in the direction of the current
(opposite to the direction of electron flow), slowly increasing the speed until the potential difference across
the wire disappears. When this happens, you know that the speed of the wire is equal to the speed of the
electrons so that the relative velocity is zero.

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Example 1:
potential difference across the cube at equilibrium?

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MAGNETIC FORCE ON A CURRENT-CARRYING WIRE Section 28.6

When a wire carrying conventional current i is placed in a magnetic field B ,⃗ there is a force on the wire
that is perpendicular to both the orientation of the wire and the magnetic field.

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University of Calgary Physics 259 Lecture 24: Magnetic Force on a Current-Carrying Wire

Example 2: A single conductor in a power transmission line is 40 m long and carries a current of 80 A
from east to west. It lies perpendicularly across the Earth’s magnetic field somewhere in
Canada. If the Earth’s magnetic flux density is 2.0 x 10-7 T, what is the magnitude and
direction of the deflecting force on the transmission line?
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Example 3: In the diagram below, a 5.0 cm length of wire experiences a 0.023 N force up out of the
page in a 1.25 T magnetic field. What is the magnitude and direction of the current in the
conductor? (Since no angle is given, we assume 90∘)

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Example 4:
magnetic field of 0.12 T. What minimum current is required in order that the magnetic
force balances the gravitational force?

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