A straight wire segment of length 0.16 m carries 2.2 A in a 0.27 T field. The angle between current and field is 38°. Find the magnetic-force magnitude.

Question

Accepted Answer

0.0585 N For a straight current-carrying segment, the vector relation F = IL × B means that only the magnetic-field component perpendicular to the current produces force. The magnitude is therefore F = BIL sinθ = (0.27)(2.2)(0.16)sin(38°). Evaluating the trigonometric factor gives a magnetic-force magnitude of 0.0585 N. Because sin(38°) is below one, 0.0585 N is smaller than the perpendicular maximum BIL = 0.095 N; the force direction would be perpendicular to both current and field.

Current-carrying wire 1

A straight wire segment of length 0.16 m carries 2.2 A in a 0.27 T field. The angle between current and field is 38°. Find the magnetic-force magnitude.

What a complete response should do

How did this one feel?