A magnetic field is a region or a space in which a

magnetic force can be detected. A magnet can attract

pieces of iron , nickel , cobalt e.t.c .Substances which can
be attracted by a magnet are called magnetic substances
and the ability of a magnet to attract magnetic substances
is called magnetism .
PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY MAGNET
Permanent magnets are magnets which do not loose
their magnetism easily .Permanent magnet are made from
steel. Permanent magnet takes along time to be
magnetised and also takes a long time to lose it’s
magnetism .Temporary magnets are made from soft iron
which is easily magnetised and loses its magnetism easily .
 PROPERTIES OF MAGNETS
1 .Magnets can attract some material such as ;iron , steel
e.t.c and do not attract some such as wood ,plastic , rubber
e.t.c .The materials attracted by magnet are called
magnetic materials while those not attracted are called non
magnetic materials .
2 .Magnets have magnetic poles which can be located
.Each bar magnet has pair of magnetic poles which are
equal in strength .
3 .Magnetic forces can pass through some substances and
do not pass through some .
4.Unlike poles attract each other while like poles repel each
other .
 POLARITY OF A MAGNET
The pole of a magnet is the portion of the magnet where it’s
magnetic attraction appears to be strongest . To determine the
polarity of a magnet repulsion and not attraction is the sure test
for polarity since repulsion only occur between similar poles .
MAKING OF MAGNETS
A magnet can be made using any of the following methods such
as
i l touch method
1 . Single
i i
2 . Divided touch method
l i l method
3 . Electrical
A magnet can be made to loose it’s magnetic ability by ;
1 . Placing the magnet in a solenoid i.e a coil of wire through
which alternating current flows .
2 . The magnet is heated to a very high temperature .

MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF SOFT IRON AND STEEL

Soft iron is made up of pure iron while steel is an alloy of carbon
and iron . Steel is much more stronger and harder material than
soft iron . The difference in their magnetic properties can be
summarised below ;
1 . Iron is more easily magnetised than steel but it looses it’s
magnetism more easily than steel .
2 . Iron produces a stronger magnet than steel .
3 . Steel is used for the manufacture of permanent magnet while
iron is used for the manufacture of temporary magnet
In an electromagnet an insulated wire is wound round a soft iron core so that it becomes a magnet
only when current flows within the coil. The magnetism of an electromagnet is temporary which can
be switched on and off .
The strength of an electromagnet increases with the following ;
1 . Increase in the current within the coil
2 . Increase the number of turns of wire on the coil .
3 . Decrease the distance between the poles of the magnet.
Electromagnets find many common application in the following;
1 .In producing intense magnetic field such as those required in the generators of electric motors
2.They are used for the lifting and transportation of heavy pieces of metal
3 .They can be used to separate iron from mixtures containing non magnetic substances .
4.They are used in the construction of electromagnetic devices such as ; electric bells, relays
,switches e.t. c
A magnetic field exerts a force on a charge moving in a field . The
strength of the magnetic field can be represented by a quantity
B which is called the flux density . If Ө is the angle between the
magnetic field direction and the direction of the motion of the
force , the force F acting on the charge can be expressed as ;
F = qvBsinӨ
Where q = charge , v = velocity of the charge , B = flux density or
magnetic induction and F = force experienced by the charge .
NOTE ; 1 .Flux density is measured in Tesla (T) or Weber per
square metre (wb /m2 )
2 .If Ө = 0ᶱ , then sinӨ = 0 and F = 0 ; i . e when a charge moves
in the direction of the magnetic field it experiences no force due
to the field .
1 .An electron moving with speed 1.9 x10 6m/s is circulating
in a right angle to a uniform magnetic field of 1.0 x10 -4 T
.Determine the radius of the orbit of the electron ,if mass
of electron is 9.1x10-31kg and charge is 1.0 x10-19C .
2 . Mention 4 applications of electrolysis and state faradays
laws of electrolysis .
3 . 7.10x10-4 kg of copper is deposited when a current of
1.2A is passed through a copper solution for 30 minutes .
Calculate the electrochemical equivalent of copper
4 .Calculate the time taken to deposit 1.56g of nickel using
a current of 2.34A in a nickel plating process ( Assume
that 1.20g of nickel are deposited per ampere – hour )
5.Which of the following substances are magnetic (i) Iron
(ii) Steel (iii) Glass (iv) Nickel (v) Wood (vi) Cobalt
 If an electric current flows through a conductor or a wire a magnetic
field is generated around such a wire and the nature of the magnetic
field is such that ;
1 ) It consist of concentric circles with the wire or conductor at the centre
.
2 ) The direction of the field is determined by the direction of the current
3 ) When the current is increased the strength of the field will also
increase .
DETERMINATION OF FIELD DIRECTION
The direction of the magnetic field can be determined by the
right hand clenched fist rule which states that ; if a conductor is
grasped with the right hand such that the thumb points in the direction
of the current , then the direction of the curled finger shows the
direction of the field .Also the Maxwell’s Corkscrew Rule also
states that if right handed corkscrew is screwed in such a way that
that it’s points travel along the direction of the current , then the
direction of the rotation of the corkscrew gives the direction of the
magnetic field.
 Sincea current carrying conductor has a magnetic field
around it , we should expect two current carrying wires or
conductors to experience the effect of magnetic field
around them. Ampere’s law explains the action between
two parallel current carrying conductors. Ampere’s law
states that ; Two parallel current carrying wires attract each
other when the current in them flows in the same direction
but repels each other when current in them flows in
opposite direction.
An electromagnetic field is a field representing the joint interaction between the
electrical forces and magnetic forces .If a conductor carrying current is
placed in a magnetic field it experiences a force and the magnitude of the
force produced is directly proportional to the current and the field strength.
Also the strength of the force produced increases when ; i) when the current
is increased
ii ) when a stronger magnet is used. iii ) when the length of the current
carrying wire within the magnetic field is increased .
Nevertheless further experiments lead to the following observations ; 1 ) A
mechanical force acts on a current carrying conductor , whenever the
conductor is placed in a magnetic field and at an angle to it .
2 ) The direction of the force is always perpendicular to the direction of the
current and the magnetic field .
3 ) The magnitude of the force produced is proportional directly to the current
and the strength of the field i . e it increases when the current increases and
when the field strength increases .
4 ) The magnitude of the force decreases when the angle between the field and
the current carrying conductor decreases from 90 . It becomes zero when
the conductor lies parallel to the field
. .
Fleming’s left hand rule states that if the thumb , fore finger
and middle finger of the left hand are held at right angles
to each other , the fore finger will be pointing in the
direction of the magnetic field , the second finger in the
direction of the current and the thumb will be pointing in
the direction of the force producing it .

motion

magnetic field
current
 The d.c motor works on the principle that when a current
is supplied to a coil which has it’s plane parallel to a magnetic
field , the coil tends to rotate for as long as current is
passing through it . The purpose of d.c motor is to convert
electrical energy into mechanical energy .
STRUCTURE OF THE DIRECT CURRENT MOTOR
A d. c motor consist of a rectangular coil ABCD placed on
a moving part called armature . The armature can rotate
about a fixed axis ,P,Q in a magnetic field . The two ends of
the rectangular coil are soldered to two brass segment of a
commutator . The segments from the halves of a split ring are
insulated from each other . Two carbon brushes X,Y press
lightly on the two segment s and carry current from the
battery through the segment to rectangular coil.
Current from the battery flows into the rectangular coil
through the carbon brushes .Since the coil is in a
magnetic field a couple is exerted on the coil and this
result in the continuous rotation of the coil as long as d.c
current is maintained in the coil.
The movement or rotation of the coil is transmitted to it’s
axle or shaft .In industries the rotation is used to drive
machines . A commercial d.c motor has several coils.
Each coil has it’s own connection to a commutator which
has many pairs of segment . The coil is wound around a
soft iron armature which increases the number of lines of
force passing through the coil . The modification helps to
increase the power of the motor.
 The moving coil galvanometer is another
instrument which works on the principle of conversion
of electric current to mechanical energy . In this
instrument the current carrying coil in a magnetic field
is made to rotate . The moving coil galvanometer is
used to detect or measure electric current .
STRUCTURE OF A MOVING COIL GALVANOMETER
The moving coil galvanometer is made of a coil
ABCD , which is supported on two jewelled bearing X
and Y . The galvanometer rotates in a magnetic field
provided by the poles of a powerful horseshoe magnet
. The presence of the soft iron core , between the
curved poles of the magnet , makes the field to become
radial and uniform .The control spring provides an
opposing couple which controls the angle of rotation .
The control spring also returns the coil to the zero
position after the current has been switched off. The
pointer ,P, attached to the axle , moves over the scale
which is uniformly spaced .
 As current passes into the coil through the terminals T
and T , the magnetic field causes the coil to rotate. Hence the
pointer attached to the coil moves over a uniform scale . The
movement of the coil is opposed by the springs . The coil will
then come to rest in a position where the couple due to the
current is balanced by the couple due to the springs .The
spring thus control the angle of rotation of the coil . The
rotation of the coil is proportional to the current flowing
through it .
SENSITIVITY AND ACCURACY OF THE GALVANOMETER
A galvanometer is said to be sensitive if it can detect
small current . It is said to be accurate if the reading it
indicates is close to the true value of the current flowing
through the instrument . For a galvanometer to be sensitive ,
the coil should be suspended so that it can turn easily and the
control spring should have low stiffness. For accuracy , the
galvanometer should be checked against a standard meter
known to be accurate .
 The electric bell works through a make and break
device .The electric circuit of the system is
complete by pressing a push bell and as current
flows into the circuit , the soft iron becomes
magnetised (becomes a temporary magnet / an
electromagnet ) and it attracts the soft iron
armature. The attraction of the soft iron makes the
striker (hammer / clapper) to strike the gong and
also it breaks contact . The breaking of the contact
causes the electromagnet to loose its magnetism
and the spring helps the soft iron armature to return
back to it’s original position . The processes are
repeated rapidly and the bell continues to ring as
long as the bell push is pressed .
 Experiments has proven that it is possible
that mechanical energy can be converted to
electrical energy , thus producing electricity without
batteries . In 1832 an English Physical Scientist
called Michael Faraday , discovered that the relative
motion between a conductor and a magnetic field
produces an e.m.f ,this phenomenon is called
electromagnetic induction. Electromagnetic
induction can simply be defined as the process by
which an e.m.f is induced in a circuit whenever
there is a change in the magnetic flux which is
linked within the circuit . Faraday discovered that
the e.m.f could be generated by ; 1 )either moving
the coil or source of flux relative to each other
2 ) changing the magnitude of the source of flux
 When the N-pole of a magnet is moved towards
a coil connected to a galvanometer , the
galvanometer is found to give a deflection when the
magnet is moving through it .This indicates that
current is flowing . This current is called induced
current .If the magnet is withdrawn from the coil
instead of towards the coil , the galvanometer will
also deflect but this time in the opposite direction .
This shows that a reverse current has been
developed .If the magnet is kept stationary , the
galvanometer shows no deflection .Also if the
experiment is performed by moving the coil towards
or away from a stationary magnet , the
galvanometer will also deflect .In both experiment it
would be observed that the deflection would be
greater when ; 1 ) the relative motion of the
magnet and the coil is faster 2) the strength of the
magnet is increased 3) the coil has more turns .
 NOTE ;
1 ) When there is relative motion between a
magnet and a conductor , an induced current or
e.m.f is generated within the coil .
2 )The direction of the induced current depends
on the polarity and movement of the magnet .
3 ) The faster the relative motion , the greater
the size of the induced current
4 ) Increase in the strength of the magnet and
increase in the number of turns of the coil all
increase in the size of the induced current
 FARADAY’S LAW OF
ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION
 Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction
states that whenever there is a change in the
magnetic lines of flux linked with a circuit an
e.m.f is induced in the circuit and the induced
e.m.f is directly proportional to the rate of
change of flux or field lines linking the circuit .
FLEMING’S RIGHT-HAND RULE
Fleming’s right hand rule states that if
the thumb , the fore finger ,and the middle
finger of the right hand are held at right angles
to each other , the fore finger points in the
direction of the magnetic field , the thumb in
the direction of the of the motion and the
middle finger in the direction of the current
 LENZ’S LAW
Lenz’s law states that when there is a
relative motion between a circuit and a
magnetic field , the magnetic field due to the
induced electric current opposes the motion .
When a magnet is moved towards and
away from a coil , work is done against the
magnetic field of the coil to counteract the
opposition as shown by Lenz’s law . We are
doing more work than what ought to have been
done if the coil were not present .The extra
mechanical energy that we have put into the
system is transferred into electrical energy of
the induced current . Hence , we can say that
Lenz’s law follows the principle of conservation
of energy
 ALTERNATING CURRENT (A.C)
GENERATOR
The a.c generator or dynamo , is a device for
converting mechanical energy into electrical
energy. The mechanical energy is produced by
the motions of the coils of wire in a magnetic
field . The electrical energy is derived from the
e.m.f or current , which is subsequently induced
in the coil . The induced e.m.f is called
alternating current because it flows in only one
direction during one part of a cycle and in the
opposite direction during the rest of the cycle
 STRUCTURE OF AN ALTERNATING
CURRENT GENERATOR
An alternating current generator consist of three
essential parts ;
1. A magnet which provides a strong magnetic field
2. An armature consisting of several turns of wire
wound on a soft iron core
3. Two slip – rings on which two carbon brushes rest .
NOTE ;
A machine that converts mechanical energy into
electrical energy or electrical energy into mechanical
energy is a dynamo . When it changes mechanical
energy into elecrical energy a dynamo is called a
generator , but when it changes electrical energy into
mechanical energy a dynamo is called a motor . Also
there are two types of generator ;
1. Alternating current (A.C) generator
2. Direct current (D.C) generator
When commercial electricity is generated at a power
station , the electricity has to be distributed to areas
where the electricity is to be used . Since electric
power is current x voltage , it can be transmitted with
high current, low voltage or high voltage ,low current .
Since electricity is conveyed in cables some power is
bound to be lost in form of heat . Heat loss is high when
the current is high , in other to minimise loss of electric
power during transmission , electricity is distributed at
low current but at a very high voltage . However , at the
point of use , the high voltage needs to be stepped down
to a low and less dangerous level. This is achieved by
the means of step- down transformer .A transformer is
simply a device for changing the voltage of an a.c
supply
A transformer consists of two coils which are the
primary coil and the secondary coil . The two coils
are wound round a soft iron core . The iron core is
made of sheets of iron which are insulated from each
other to prevent heat loss , such a soft iron core is
said to be laminated. An alternating current applied
at the terminals of the primary coil sets up an
alternating magnetic flux in the iron core . This
induces an e.m.f in the secondary coil (Es) which
depends on the e.m.f in the primary coil (Ep) and
number of turns of wire on each coil .This is such
that ;
 Es = Ns
 Ep Np
Where Es = e.m.f in the secondary coil
Ep = e.m.f in the primary coil
Ns = number of turns of wire in the secondary
coil
Np = number of turns of wire in the primary
coil
DIAGRAM OF A TRANSFORMER
A step up transformer has more turns of
wire at the secondary coil than the primary
coil as shown below ;
 A step down transformer has more turns of
wire at the primary coil than at the secondary
coil as shown below ;
A transformer, being a machine, obeys the law of
conservation of energy i.e. The efficiency of a
transformer is expected to be 100% if the power
developed in the secondary coil is equal to the
power supplied to the primary coil. In practice, this
is not possible due to the fact that energy is wasted
in a transformer. If the efficiency of a transformer
is 100%, it can be expressed as

 Efficiency = (power output/power input) x 100%

▪ S
 The relationship discussed above apply to only an ideal
transformer where there is no energy loss and the
transformer is 100% efficient . In practical transformers
however , there are energy losses due to ;
1. Eddy current ; this is the current produced by the
varying magnetic flux cutting the iron core of the
transformer. They reduce the efficiency of the
transformer because they consume power from the
primary coil. Energy is lost in the form of heat in the
iron due to eddy current . Such loss can be reduced
by laminating the core . The lamination of the core
reduces the effect of eddy current by breaking up
their path of flow .
2. Hysteresis loss ; is the wasted energy due to
reversing the magnetisation of the core. It can be
reduced by the usage of soft iron cores or special
alloys in the core of the primary coil .
3. Heat loss ; due to the fact that both the primary
coil and the secondary coil has resistances some
energy is lost in the form of heat (I2 R) in the coils .
This type of heat loss can be reduced by using thick
wires or low resisitance coil .
4. Leakage of magnetic flux ; some energy is lost due
to leakage of magnetic flux . This loss can be
reduced by special coil winding or by efficient core
desing .
It is because of the above losses that the efficiency
of a practical transformer is lessthan 100%
 Thevoltage of the primary coil of a transformer is
200 v. It is used to light ten 12V 30W bulbs which
draws a current of 2 A in the primary. Calculate
the efficiency of the transformer.

 Solution
 PP=VI Ps = 10 x 30= 300W
 200 x 2= 400w : Eff. = 400 x 100 = 75%
 300