Question

A circular coil of 20 turns and radius 10 cm is placed in a uniform magnetic field of 0.10 T normal to the plane of the coil. If the current in the coil is 5.0 A, what is the

(a) total torque on the coil,

(b) total force on the coil,

(c) average force on each electron in the coil due to the magnetic field?

(The coil is made of copper wire of cross-sectional area 10^–5 m², and the free electron density in copper is given to be about 10²⁹ m^–3.)

Answer 1

Number of turns on the circular coil, n = 20

Radius of the coil, r = 10 cm = 0.1 m

Magnetic field strength, B = 0.10 T

Current in the coil, I = 5.0 A

(a) The total torque on the coil is zero because the field is uniform.

(b) The total force on the coil is zero because the field is uniform.

(c) Cross-sectional area of copper coil, A = 10⁻⁵ m²

Number of free electrons per cubic meter in copper, N = 10²⁹/m³

Charge on the electron, e = 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ C

Magnetic force, F = Bev_d

Where,

v_d = Drift velocity of electrons

= `"I"/("NeA")`

∴ F = `"BeI"/"NeA"`

= `(0.10 xx 5.0)/(10^29 xx 10^-5)`

= 5 × 10⁻²⁵ N

Hence, the average force on each electron is 5 × 10⁻²⁵ N.