A question about Faraday's law

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The discussion centers on the confusion regarding the force acting on a ring in a magnetic field generated by a coil with an increasing current. Initially, the poster questions how an upward force can arise when the induced current in the ring should create a sideways force according to the Lorentz force equation. Clarifications reveal that the magnetic field has both radial and axial components, which contribute to the force on the ring. It is concluded that the changing magnetic flux induces a circumferential electric field, resulting in a force that pushes the ring away. This phenomenon specifically occurs with alternating current in the coil.
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My question is about the system in the picture. There is an upwards force which acts on the ring. My problem is that I don't see how it comes about. I mean, suppose that at time t, the current through the coil flows counterclockwise and is increasing. So there is an increasing, upward pointing magnetic field through the ring. That should induce a current on it in a clockwise direction. But then, according to the Lorentz force equation, the force on the ring should be sideways, isn't it? I mean it dosen't make sense that the force will be in the same direction as the magnetic field anyway, because \vec F = q(\vec{v} \times \vec{B}), so it has to be perpendicular to both v and B.

So how is that force created?

Thanks in advance,

Lior
 

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This should give you an idea:
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/3589/76749370cc6.png

(sorry for the ugly sketch, any reference to a sketch making program would be appreciated =x )
 
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Oh, I get it - because B has a component parallel to the ring. Thanks!
 
k3d
"google sketchup"
 
LiorE said:
Oh, I get it - because B has a component parallel to the ring. Thanks!

No... B has a components perpendicular to the ring. In the region of the ring, B has both radial and axial components.
 
This is actually a very interesting question, guys.

With an infinitely long core, the B field will be purely axial, following along the core. the Lorenz force on the charges moving in the ring are anti-radial--directed inward. So is the ring repelled in this case?? I don't think so. There's no preferred axial direction. But at the end of the core, or the end of a solenoid, the field diverges outward, radially. This would seem to be the cause for the ring being repelled.

Remember, this only works for an AC current in the coil. From what I can deduce, the changing flux passing through the ring induces a circumpherential electric field inducing a current in the loop. But the radial component of the magnetic field in the region of the ring acts under the Lorentz force,

F_z = q v_phi B_r

to push the ring away.

Any Yays, or Nays, your just another lunatic on the internet?
 
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