Nature of Coil and magnet fields?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the nature of magnetic fields generated by coils versus those produced by permanent magnets. It establishes that the magnetic field produced by a coil, when current flows through it, is fundamentally similar to that of a permanent magnet, as both can attract ferromagnetic materials. The visualization of the magnetic field from a coil is straightforward, as it creates a distinct ring of magnetic field lines, while the magnetic field of permanent magnets arises from the collective orbital magnetic moments of atoms organized into domains. The size of the coil does not significantly alter the magnetic field strength, provided the current remains constant.

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  • Understanding of electromagnetic theory
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  • Knowledge of current flow in electrical circuits
  • Basic concepts of atomic structure and magnetic domains
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  • Explore the principles of electromagnetism using tools like MATLAB or Python for simulations
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Ruptor
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I find it difficult to visualise how the magnetic field generated by a coil can be the same as the field of a permanent magnet. Are the magnetic fields the same or is it just that the effects are the same in that they both attract iron or magnets in the same fashion?
Visualising the field produced by a coil is straightforward because the current flows along the wire and emanates a nice ring of magnetic field but I can't see how the orbital magnetic moments of individual atoms clumped into domains sum up to the same rings of field.
 
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Hi Ruptor! :smile:
Ruptor said:
Visualising the field produced by a coil is straightforward because the current flows along the wire and emanates a nice ring of magnetic field but I can't see how the orbital magnetic moments of individual atoms clumped into domains sum up to the same rings of field.

It makes (almost) no difference to the magnetic field whether you have a current coil with a wide diameter,

or lots of current coils with tiny diameters (and the same current) filling the same volume. :wink:
 

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