Electromagnetism

YOU ARE LEARNING:

Current, Conductor and Magnetic Effect

Current carrying wires are made of conducting materials. The current produces a magnetic field around the wire.

If we placed a compass near a circuit and turned on the circuit, what would happen?

So when we place a compass near an electric circuit and turn on the circuit, the compass needle will turn and point towards the circuit. What does that tell us?

This image shows the magnetic field around a wire with a current flowing through it. Where is the wire in relation to the magnetic field?

A) To the left of the magnetic field B) In the centre of the magnetic field C) To the right of the magnetic field

What pattern does the magnetic field form around the current carrying wire?

A) No pattern B) It only acts at either end of the wire C) It forms concentric circles around the wire

So when we run a current through a wire, the electric circuit generates a magnetic field in circles around the wire. The wire is at the centre of the magnetic field.

What do we call the material that makes up the core of a wire with a current flowing through it?

If we reversed the direction of the current in the wire, what do you think would happen to the direction of the magnetic field?

Wires must be made of conducting materials in order to allow current to flow through them. If you reverse the direction of the current flowing through a wire, it also reverses the direction of the magnetic field produced.

If we increase the strength of the current through the wire, what do you expect will happen to the strength of the magnetic field it produces?

Imagine we have an electric circuit that generates a magnetic field. Then put two fridge magnets into that magnetic field. Magnet B is further away from the electric circuit that magnet A. Pick the correct statement.

If we increase the current through a conductor we will increase the strength of the magnetic field. The magnetic field is strongest closer to the conductor, and gets weaker as you move away.