Force on wire due to magnetic field

[nickclarson]

Homework Statement

A straight segment of a current-carrying wire has a current element IL where I = 2.70 A and L = 2.60 cm i + 4.40 cm j. The segment is in a region with a uniform magnetic field given by 1.36 T i. Find the force on the segment of wire. (Give the x, y, and z components.)

Homework Equations

\theta = tan^{-1}(y/x)

F = ILBsin\theta

The Attempt at a Solution

Well I am pretty sure there will be no x or y component because the force will be perpendicular in the z direction.

To find the z component I found the angle between the wire and the mag field using:

tan^{-1}(4.4/2.6) = 59.421

After that I thought you are just supposed to plug everything in:

2.7A * .05111m * 1.36 * sin(59.421) = .1615N

But it's wrong! I'm not sure what I am doing wrong, the book I am using isn't very good ad explaining. I'm sure it's something simple that I am just overlooking.

Thanks,
Nick

 

[nickclarson]

CANCEL that. I just had the wrong sign. I understand why it should be negative now. This thread can be deleted.