Question

A closely wound solenoid of 800 turns and area of cross-section 2.5 × 10^–4 m² carries a current of 3.0 A. Explain the sense in which the solenoid acts like a bar magnet. What is its associated magnetic moment?

Answer 1

Number of turns in the solenoid, n = 800

Area of cross-section, A = 2.5 × 10⁻⁴ m²

Current in the solenoid, I = 3.0 A

A current-carrying solenoid behaves like a bar magnet because a magnetic field develops along its axis, i.e., along its length.

The magnetic moment associated with the given current-carrying solenoid is calculated as:

M = n I A

= 800 × 3 × 2.5 × 10⁻⁴

= 0.6 J T⁻¹