Four electric currents

[aab19902]

Homework Statement

Four electric currents, equal in magnitude are arranged at the corners of a square as shown in the figure.
[URL]https://s1.lite.msu.edu/enc/67/e803dcaee3e6ac1f07ecaa6e11a858c03f3cec0d55e5f69c7b6812a56efcefd2bec6dcdf49316634dcd828e6638a241c37cd7050f1e6c26ba36058828003ed63a62e225561265ad8020044d0aa9e083825ab692fb01f84a9.gif[/URL]

Two currents go into the page, and two are pointing out of the page. Point a is at the center of the square, and points b and c are in the middle of two of the sides. What is the direction of the magnetic field at points a, b, and c?

The Attempt at a Solution

I am really clueless, but I would guess a is zero. b and c point north.

 

[anathema]

Hello,

Thank you for your post. I would like to provide some additional information and clarification on this problem.

Firstly, the direction of the magnetic field depends on the direction of the electric currents. In this case, since two currents are going into the page and two are pointing out of the page, the magnetic field at point a will be zero, since the forces from the two currents going into the page will cancel out the forces from the two currents pointing out of the page.

At points b and c, the magnetic field will be perpendicular to the plane of the square, and will point in the direction determined by the right-hand rule. The right-hand rule states that if you point your thumb in the direction of the current, your fingers will curl in the direction of the magnetic field.

So at point b, the magnetic field will be pointing towards the top of the page, and at point c, it will be pointing towards the bottom of the page.

I hope this helps clarify the solution for you. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.