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 - Questions - Page 855: 6d

Answer

The magnitude of the current density in wire $a$ is greater than that in wire $c$

Work Step by Step

$\int~B\cdot ds = \mu_0~i_{enc}$ Therefore: $B = \frac{\mu_0~i_{enc}}{2\pi~r}~~~$ where $r$ is the radial distance from the center of the wire. At large values of $r$ on the graph, $a$ and $c$ have the same magnitude of magnetic fields. Therefore, the enclosed current in curves $a$ and $c$ must be equal. This shows that wire $a$ and wire $c$ have the same current. Each curve changes from increasing to decreasing at the point where $r$ is the radius of each wire. On the graph, we can see that wire $a$ has a smaller radius than wire $c$ Therefore, wire $a$ has a greater current density than wire $c$ The magnitude of the current density in wire $a$ is greater than that in wire $c$
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