Total magnetic field from two long parallel wires

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the total magnetic field at point P2, located 20 cm above the midpoint between two parallel wires carrying equal currents of 4.00 A. The magnetic field is determined using the formula B = μ₀I/(2πr), where μ₀ is the permeability of free space (4π × 10⁻⁷ T·m/A). The user correctly identifies the need to account for the angle when calculating the resultant magnetic field, specifically using the cosine of 14 degrees to resolve the components of the magnetic field vectors from each wire.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of magnetic fields generated by current-carrying wires
  • Familiarity with the Biot-Savart Law and Ampère's Law
  • Knowledge of vector resolution and trigonometric functions
  • Basic principles of electromagnetism, particularly the right-hand rule
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the Biot-Savart Law for calculating magnetic fields from current distributions
  • Learn about vector addition of magnetic fields from multiple sources
  • Explore the effects of angle on magnetic field calculations using trigonometric functions
  • Investigate applications of magnetic fields in real-world scenarios, such as in electric motors
USEFUL FOR

Students studying electromagnetism, physics educators, and anyone interested in understanding the principles of magnetic fields generated by parallel currents.

physstudent1
Messages
267
Reaction score
1

Homework Statement



Two long, straight, parallel wires, 10.0 cm apart carry equal 4.00-A currents in the same direction, as shown in the figure. ( in the figure the current carrying wires are at the end of a straight 10cm line and they are each in the direction coming out of the page).
point p is at the center of the 10cm line.
find the magnetic field at point p2 which is 20cm directly above p

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



I have no idea how to do this, for the last problem before this it wanted to know the field 25cm to the right of p, so I used the equation B=[tex]\mu_{0}[/tex]I/(2*pi*r) for each wire and used the right hand rule to determine they were both facing up so I added them. I'm confused on what to do now though.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I figured out to the the right answer you need to do 4*pi*10^-7 * 4 / ( 2*pi *.206) take this answer and multiply by the cos of 14 and multiply that by 2 but I don't get why you would do the cos of 14 and not the sin of 14 can someone explain it to me please
 

Similar threads

Replies
2
Views
1K
Replies
14
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
Replies
16
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K