According to the Biot-Savart Law, the magnetic field dB at a point due to a curr
Practice Questions
Q1
According to the Biot-Savart Law, the magnetic field dB at a point due to a current element Idl is proportional to which of the following?
Idl
sin(θ)
1/r^2
Both Idl and sin(θ)
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
According to the Biot-Savart Law, the magnetic field dB at a point due to a current element Idl is proportional to which of the following?
Correct Answer: Idl and sin(θ)
Step 1: Understand that the Biot-Savart Law describes how electric current creates a magnetic field.
Step 2: Identify the current element, which is represented as Idl (I is the current and dl is a small length of wire).
Step 3: Recognize that the magnetic field dB is created at a specific point in space due to this current element.
Step 4: Note that the strength of the magnetic field dB depends on two main factors: the current element Idl and the angle θ.
Step 5: Understand that θ is the angle between the direction of the current element and the line that connects the current element to the point where we are measuring the magnetic field.
Step 6: Conclude that the magnetic field dB is proportional to both Idl and sin(θ), which accounts for the angle's effect on the magnetic field strength.
Biot-Savart Law – The Biot-Savart Law describes how a current-carrying conductor produces a magnetic field in the surrounding space, specifically relating the magnetic field to the current, the length of the conductor, and the angle relative to the observation point.
Magnetic Field Proportionality – The magnetic field produced by a current element is directly proportional to the product of the current (I) and the length of the current element (dl), and also depends on the sine of the angle (θ) between the current element and the line to the observation point.
