Wire Suspended By Magnetic Field

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on calculating the current required in a wire suspended by magnetic fields generated by two other wires carrying 50A each. The participant used the formula for gravitational force and magnetic force, assuming the wire is made of copper with a density of 8.94 g/cm³. The participant initially ignored the length of the wire, leading to an incorrect calculation of the current, which was later corrected to approximately 199A. The suggestion to consider linear mass density was made to improve the accuracy of the calculations.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of magnetic forces and fields, specifically Ampère's Law
  • Knowledge of gravitational force calculations
  • Familiarity with linear mass density concepts
  • Basic proficiency in physics equations involving current and magnetic fields
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the application of Ampère's Law in magnetic field calculations
  • Learn about linear mass density and its implications in physics problems
  • Explore the properties of magnetic fields generated by current-carrying wires
  • Investigate the relationship between current, magnetic force, and gravitational force in suspended systems
USEFUL FOR

Physics students, electrical engineers, and anyone interested in the principles of electromagnetism and force calculations in suspended systems.

Lancelot59
Messages
640
Reaction score
1
I'm given the following situation:
Giancoli.ch28.p52.jpg

The suspended wire has a radius of 1.20mm (0.0012m), and is being held up by the magnetic fields generated by the bottom two wires which have a current of 50A each.

I started with a simple force setup:

[tex]F_{g}=2F_{M}sin(60)[/tex]
[tex]mg=2F_{M}sin(60)[/tex]
[tex]F_{M}=\frac{mg}{2sin(60)})[/tex]

To get the mass of the wire I assumed it was made of copper, the density being 8.94 g/cm^3. Not being given any information about the length I just decided to ignore it.

[tex]m=d*v[/tex]
[tex]m=(89.2 \frac{kg}{m^{3}})*\pir^{2}*length[/tex]

[tex]m=(89.2 \frac{kg}{m^{3}})*\pi(0.0006)^{2}*length[/tex]
[tex]m=0.000100883kg[/tex]

So the total weight force pulling the top wire down is: 0.0009896622N

Now to get the magnetic force I treated the wires as infinitely long wires:
[tex]F=I_{2}lB[/tex] and then for the magnetic field generated from each wire:[tex]B=\frac{\mu_{0}I_{1}}{2\pi r}[/tex]

Then sticking everything together, and doubling the magnetic field:
[tex]F_{M}=I_{2}l2B[/tex]
[tex]F_{M}=I_{2}l2(\frac{\mu_{0}I_{1}}{2\pi r})[/tex]

Putting that into the net force equation:
[tex]F_{g}=2(I_{2}l2(\frac{\mu_{0}I_{1}}{2\pi r}))sin(60)[/tex]
[tex]F_{g}=2(I_{2}l(\frac{\mu_{0}I_{1}}{\pi r}))sin(60)[/tex]

So I substituted in the values and solved for I2. I decided to ignore the length term.
[tex]0.0009896622=2(I_{2}l(\frac{(4\pi x10^{-7})(50.0A)}{\pi (0.035m)}))sin(60)[/tex]
I wound up with I2 being 0.999918041, which is way off. After guessing a few times I got the correct answer of 199 from the system after feeding it 200. Where did I go wrong?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Lancelot59 said:
To get the mass of the wire I assumed it was made of copper, the density being 8.94 g/cm^3. Not being given any information about the length I just decided to ignore it.

This where I think you went wrong, did you consider doing it in terms of a linear mass density? You know the cross-sectional area of the wire, it might help.
 
Elwin.Martin said:
This where I think you went wrong, did you consider doing it in terms of a linear mass density? You know the cross-sectional area of the wire, it might help.

Sorry, could you explain that to me?
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K
Replies
3
Views
1K
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
10
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
Replies
6
Views
2K
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K