Lab: Magnetic Effect of Current

Objective:
You have observed that current creates a magnetic field and that the strength of the magnetic field (B)
increases if the current through the wire increases. We will quantify this further, and look at more aspects
of this phenomena.

Background Information:
Look at the set-up of the apparatus as shown in Figure (a). Note that the support frame is lined up in a
north-south (magnetic) direction. When the circuit system is open, no current flows through the wire.
Therefore, no induced magnetic field exists around the wire. The compass is acted upon only by the
earth's magnetic field. Thus the needle will point in the direction of magnetic north (0°) as indicated by
the vector M. When the switch is closed and current flows through the wire, a magnetic field due to the
current appears around the wire. It acts in the direction given by B. If the earth's magnetic field were
nonexistent, the compass needle would point in the direction of B. However, under the influence of the
two magnetic fields, M and B, the compass takes the direction of their resultant. M represents the earth's
magnetic field and is constant. B, however, changes with the current in the wire, and the compass needle
takes the direction of R, which are B + M (note these are vector quantities so that adding them will be done by
the head to tail method or the parallelogram method). The angle θ is the angle between M and the direction of
the needle. Knowing trigonometric relationships, you should be able to come up with a relationship
between theta, B and M.

Figure (a).

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Procedure:
1. Connect the power supply, multimeter
(used as an ammeter), 10 Ω resistor, and
the loop of wire as shown in Figure (a)
& (b). There should be at least 5 turns
of wire around the frame.

Figure (b)
2. Place the compass in the center on the crossbar of the apparatus. Align the compass so
that the N, S of the compass is collinear with the top portion of the loops of wire. Now,
rotate the frame until the compass needle lines up with the N,S markings of the outer bezel
of the compass (red is N). The needle of the compass and the plane of the wire coil should,
now be aligned with magnetic north and south.
Note: For all measurements, touch the battery with the probe as briefly as possible. Always
disconnect the circuit as soon as the readings are made.
3. Starting with the voltage set to the lowest setting on the “battery eliminator”, record the
current through the ammeter and the deflection angle of the compass. Increase the current
by stepping up the voltage to the next level. QUICKLY record the current and the
deflection angle. Do this for every voltage option on the “battery eliminator”.
4. Next, bring the voltage setting so that you are getting about 1.0 A through the wire. Now
record the number of loops and deflection. For each trial take off a loop from the
apparatus. Record the number of loops of wire and the compass deflection reading.
5. On your last trial, reverse the current and observe the angle of deflection. Here your data
that will not vary are current and number of loops. Record the deflection angle then
reverse the wiring and record the new deflection angle.
Data
Number of loops: 7 length of one side: 0.26m

Part 1: Part 2: Current: 0.97 A

(sample chart -- do actual chart in
Sheets) coils Deflection
Current Deflection Angle Angle (θ)
(A) (θ)(º) (º)
0 0 7 34
0.14 4 6 30
5 24
0.21 10
4 20
0.30 14
3 10
0.43 19
2 4
0.47 22
1 2
0.56 26 Part 3: (Reversing current)
0.68 30 current: 0.97 with 7 coils
deflection angle 34 degrees

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 reversed wiring deflection angle -34
degrees.
Analysis:
1. What is the significance of tanθ? A vector diagram would be appropriate in your
𝐵
answer. It is proportional to B. 𝑡𝑎𝑛θ = 𝑀

2. Plot a graph of the tangent of the deflection angle vs current (if the later points
deviate from the line substantially, omit them [especially if your resistor was
smoking])a
In Excel or Sheets: =TAN(RADIANS(B2))

3. What does the graph indicate about the magnetic induction (B) and the
relationship between the current in the coil (does it show a direct relationship?)?
Explain. tanθ is proportional to the current. Because B is proportional to tanθ, and
tanθ is also proportional to the current, B can be said to be directly proportional to
the current.

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4. Is there a simple relationship between the number of current carrying wires and
the magnetic field strength? What measurement that you took today is related to
the quantification of magnetic field strength? (a graph of tangent of deflection
angle vs Coils would be good to support your answer)
There is a relationship between the # of current-carrying coils and the magnetic field
strength. The more coils there are the greater the field strength.

5. What happens if you reverse the current? (verify this experimentally)

If you reverse the current, the needle will still deflect at the same angle but it will
deflect in the other direction.
6. Consider the following formula derived from Biot-Savart:

µ𝑜𝐼
𝐵 = 4π𝑟 (𝑐𝑜𝑠θ2 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠θ1)
How must you alter it for this lab (2 different multipliers)? State what the two
multipliers are.
Multiply by 4 (sides of the square) and multiply by # of loops you have (N).
µ𝑜𝐼
𝐵 = (4)(𝑁) (𝑐𝑜𝑠θ2 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠θ1)
4π𝑟
µ𝐼
𝐵 = 𝑁 π𝑟 (𝑐𝑜𝑠θ2 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠θ1)
𝑜

7. Figure out a way to substitute your slope from your first graph into the modified
formula from number 6. Now, determine M, the experimental value for the
Earth’s magnetic field. (although you are not being asked to compare this to the

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 known value, realize that you will not be getting 0.50 G because you are only
looking at the ĵ component of M)
µ𝑜𝐼
𝐵=𝑁 (𝑐𝑜𝑠θ2 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠θ1)
π𝑟

(𝑐𝑜𝑠θ2 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠θ1) = (𝑐𝑜𝑠(45) − 𝑐𝑜𝑠(− 45))

2 2 2 2
( 2
− (− 2
)) = ( 2
+ 2
)
(𝑐𝑜𝑠θ2 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠θ1) = ( 2)

−7
(4π𝑥10 )𝐼
𝐵=𝑁 π𝑟
( 2)
−7
(4𝑥10 )𝐼
𝐵=𝑁 𝑟
( 2)

𝑡𝑎𝑛θ 𝐵
𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 = 0. 883 = 𝐼
= 𝑚𝐼
𝐵
𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
= 𝑚𝐼

−7
(4𝑥10 )𝐼
𝑁 𝑟(0.883)
( 2) = 𝑚𝐼
−7
(4𝑥10 )
𝑁 𝑟(0.883)
( 2) = 𝑚
−7
(4𝑥10 )
𝑚 = (7) (0.1285)(0.883)
( 2)
𝑚 = 0. 000034899 𝑇
0.000034899 𝑇
𝑚 = −4 = 0. 34899𝐺
(10 )
𝑚 = 0. 349 𝐺

Conclusion:

Write a strong conclusion that shows you understand all aspects of the analysis
questions.
As we can see from the tanθ vs. current graph above, tanθ grows as the current
increases. Additionally, the vector diagram indicates that tanθ is proportional to B,
indicating a relationship between current and B (magnetic field intensity). Moreover,
the deflection angle increases as the magnetic field gets stronger and more loops are
added to the system. We found that the compass's deflection angle had the same
magnitude as the positive current when we reversed the current, although in the
opposite direction. This indicates that the field's direction—but not its magnitude—is
solely influenced by the current's direction. Finally, we calculated a rough estimate of
the Earth’s magnetic field by finding the magnetic field that we measured with the
proportional relationship between magnetic field strength and current.