Fundamentals of Physics Extended (10th Edition)

Published by Wiley
ISBN 10: 1-11823-072-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-11823-072-5

Chapter 29 - Magnetic Fields Due to Currents - Problems - Page 860: 38b

Answer

The current in wire 2 is out of the page.

Work Step by Step

We can write the general expression for the magnetic force on a current-carrying wire due to a parallel current-carrying wire: $F = \frac{\mu_0~L~i_1~i_2}{2\pi~d}$ Note that currents in the same direction attract each other, and currents in the opposite direction repel each other. When wire 3 is closer to wire 2, there is a larger positive component of $\frac{F}{L}$ acting on wire 2. This shows that the current in wire 3 exerts a force on wire 2 in the +x direction. Thus the currents in wire 2 and wire 3 must be in the same direction. Therefore, the current in wire 2 is out of the page.
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