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The magnetic field strength (magnitude) produced by a long straight current-carrying wire is found by experiment to be
where is the current, is the shortest distance to the wire, and the constant is the permeability of free space . is one of the basic constants in nature. We will see later that is related to the speed of light.) Since the wire is very long, the magnitude of the field depends only on distance from the wire , not on position along the wire.
Find the current in a long straight wire that would produce a magnetic field twice the strength of the Earth’s at a distance of 5.0 cm from the wire.
Strategy
The Earth’s field is about , and so here due to the wire is taken to be . The equation can be used to find , since all other quantities are known.
Solution
Solving for and entering known values gives
Discussion
So a moderately large current produces a significant magnetic field at a distance of 5.0 cm from a long straight wire. Note that the answer is stated to only two digits, since the Earth’s field is specified to only two digits in this example.
The magnetic field of a long straight wire has more implications than you might at first suspect. Each segment of current produces a magnetic field like that of a long straight wire, and the total field of any shape current is the vector sum of the fields due to each segment. The formal statement of the direction and magnitude of the field due to each segment is called the Biot-Savart law . Integral calculus is needed to sum the field for an arbitrary shape current. This results in a more complete law, called Ampere’s law , which relates magnetic field and current in a general way. Ampere’s law in turn is a part of Maxwell’s equations , which give a complete theory of all electromagnetic phenomena. Considerations of how Maxwell’s equations appear to different observers led to the modern theory of relativity, and the realization that electric and magnetic fields are different manifestations of the same thing. Most of this is beyond the scope of this text in both mathematical level, requiring calculus, and in the amount of space that can be devoted to it. But for the interested student, and particularly for those who continue in physics, engineering, or similar pursuits, delving into these matters further will reveal descriptions of nature that are elegant as well as profound. In this text, we shall keep the general features in mind, such as RHR-2 and the rules for magnetic field lines listed in Magnetic Fields and Magnetic Field Lines , while concentrating on the fields created in certain important situations.
Hearing all we do about Einstein, we sometimes get the impression that he invented relativity out of nothing. On the contrary, one of Einstein’s motivations was to solve difficulties in knowing how different observers see magnetic and electric fields.
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