Help Solving a Problem with Cylindrical Wires: Magnetic Force Calculation

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on calculating the magnetic force per unit length acting on a wire located 0.200 cm from the center of a package containing 100 cylindrical wires, each carrying a current of 2.00 A. The user, Tiago, initially calculated the magnetic field using Ampère's Law and derived a force per unit length of 6.4 mN/m, while the expected answer is 6.34 mN/m. Tiago suspects that the assumption of uniform current distribution may be incorrect due to the isolation of the wires, which could lead to gaps affecting the current calculation.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Ampère's Law and its application in magnetic field calculations.
  • Familiarity with the concept of magnetic force on current-carrying conductors.
  • Knowledge of cylindrical geometry and its implications in electrical engineering.
  • Basic principles of current distribution in isolated conductors.
NEXT STEPS
  • Review the derivation of Ampère's Law in cylindrical coordinates.
  • Study the effects of non-uniform current distribution in isolated wires.
  • Learn about the magnetic field calculations for multiple parallel wires.
  • Explore the impact of wire spacing on magnetic interactions in a bundle of conductors.
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tiagobt
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Could anyone please help me with the following problem?

A compact package contains n = 100 long straight wires, shaped like a cylinder with a radius of R = 0.500 cm. If each wire conducts i = 2.00 A, calculate the intensity and direction of the magnetic force per unit of length acting on a wire located r = 0.200 cm from the center of the package.

I tried to solve it as follows:

Complete cylinder with radius R
Current: [itex]I_1 = n.i[/itex]
Area of the section: [itex]A_1 = \pi R^2[/itex]

Cylinder with radius r
Current: [itex]I_2[/itex]
Area of the section: [itex]A_2 = \pi r^2[/itex]

[tex]\frac {I_1} {I_2} = \frac {A_1} {A_2}[/tex]

[tex]I_2 = \frac {n i r^2} {R^2}[/tex]

Using Ampère Law for a circle of radius r:

[tex]\oint \vec B \cdot d \vec s = \mu_0 I_2[/tex]

[tex]B 2 \pi r = \frac {\mu_0 n i r^2} {R^2}[/tex]

[tex]B = \frac {\mu_0} {2 \pi} \frac {n i r} {R^2} = 0.0032 T[/tex]

Calculating the force that acts on the wire with distance r from the center:

[tex]F = i l B[/tex]

[tex]\frac F l = iB = 0.0064 N/m = 6.4 mN/m[/tex]

But I was supposed to find [itex]\frac F l = 6.34 mN/m[/itex]. What did I do wrong?

Thanks,

Tiago
 
Last edited:
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I forgot to say that the wires are all isolated. Does that change anything?
 
Does it appear to be right at least? I'm starting to think that my mistake was to consider the cylinder section having a uniform current distribution. Since the wires are isolated and don't "fit" perfectly in a cylinder (some gaps are left in between them), I may have used the wrong current in Ampère Law. Is there an easy way to fix this? My answer is close to the answer key, so it could be something like that.
 
Last edited:

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