- #1
Gear300
- 1,213
- 9
A wire carrying a current I is bent into the shape of an equilateral triangle of side L. Find the magnitude of the magnetic field at the center of the triangle.
Since the vector of the magnetic field in respect to each side of the triangle points in the same direction at the center, I should be able to find the magnetic field generated by one side of the triangle and multiply it by 3. After trying several times, I keep getting
B = 1.5uI/(pi*L), in which u = permeability of of free space...but the actual answer is
B = 4.5uI/(pi*L), which is 3 times greater than my answer. After looking over my work, nothing seems to be wrong...but my answer is down by a factor of 3 from the one I'm supposed to get. What am I doing wrong??
Since the vector of the magnetic field in respect to each side of the triangle points in the same direction at the center, I should be able to find the magnetic field generated by one side of the triangle and multiply it by 3. After trying several times, I keep getting
B = 1.5uI/(pi*L), in which u = permeability of of free space...but the actual answer is
B = 4.5uI/(pi*L), which is 3 times greater than my answer. After looking over my work, nothing seems to be wrong...but my answer is down by a factor of 3 from the one I'm supposed to get. What am I doing wrong??