A single loop of wire can be used to create a magnetic
field by passing an electric current through the wire. The direction of the field is
found by using the "right hand rule". Align the fingers of the right hand along the
wire in such a way that they point in the direction of the current. The extended thumb
of the right hand will then show the direction of the magnetic field as it passes
through the center of the loop. The magnetic field is continuous, so as it leaves the
coil it will be bent around and re-enter the coil at the opposite
side.
When a wire is wrapped into a series of tightly
packed, single layer of circular loops it is known as a "solenoid". When current is
passed through the solenoid a magnetic field is created by each of the loops which add
together as vectors to create a single magnetic field. The strength of the field that
is created is proportional to the number of loops of wire and the strength of the
current which passes through the wire.
The formula that
describes the relationship between the magnetic field strength, B, and the number of
loops of the the coil and the current strength is:
B =
uNI
In this equation
B is the
magnetic field strength
u is the permeability of free
space
N is the number of circular loops in the
solenoid
I is the strength of the
current.
From this relationship we can see that the size of
the magnetic field will increase as the number of loops
increases.
We can also see that the size of the magnetic
field will increase as the size of the electric current (I)
increases.
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