Magnetic Field above a Rectangular Circuit

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
3 replies · 2K views
Contingency
Messages
41
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


On the XY there lies a conducting wire-rectangle with sides parallel to the axis.
The current is given and constant.
What is the magnitude of the magnetic field along an axis parallel to the z axis, going through the intersection of the rectangle's diagonals?

Homework Equations


[tex]\vec { dB } =\frac { I }{ c{ \left| \vec { r } \right| }^{ 3 } } \vec { dl } \times \vec { r }[/tex]

The Attempt at a Solution


Due to symmetry, I can expect the field along this axis to be in the z direction. I can integrate along just one of each pair of the circuit's sides and double the result.
What I'm having trouble with is the cross product in Biot-Savart's Law - it seems to me that the angle [itex]{ \theta }_{ \vec { dl } ,\vec { r } }[/itex]changes throughout the integral. If this is true then it seems the calculation of the field is not too easy..
I'd just like to make sure I'm correct before I get into it - does [itex]{ \theta }_{ \vec { dl } ,\vec { r } }[/itex]change throughout the integral?
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
Remind yourself how the calculation goes for an infinite line of current using the Biot-Savart law. The same calculation will apply to each piece of the loop, just with finite integration bounds.
 
I haven't calculated that field with Biot-Savart.. But I presume the implied answer is that the angle changes and this is not negligible.. Right?
 
Yes, the angle changes. It is usually one of the first calculations done in any EM text after introducing the Biot-Savart law. You can take at look at "Introduction to Electrodynamics" by Griffiths, for instance.