Unit 4-Physics On The Move

Topic 2-Electric and Magnetic Fields

Explain what is meant by an electric field and recognise and use the expression for electric field strength E= Charges and fields
Electric charge is one of the fundamental properties of nature. Two objects of the same charge will push each other apart (repel) while objects of opposite charge pull each other together (attract). Surrounding every charged object is an electric field-a region of space in which another charged object will experience a force. The electric field is characterised by strength and direction. The strength of the field at a point in space determines the size of the force that a charge will experience if it is placed at that point. Electric field strength is a vector quantity. The direction of the field at a point is defined to be the direction of the force acting on a small positive charge placed at that point. When a field-line diagram is drawn to illustrate the nature of an electrical field, the arrows on the field lines are always drawn to show the direction of the force on a positive charge. The electric field strength, E, at a point is the force, F, acting per unit charge, q, at that point : E=

Draw and interpret diagrams using lines of force to describe radial and uniform electric fields qualitatively The field of a point charge
The simplest electric field belongs to a single point charge (that is, a charge that is very small compared with any distance that we may be measuring), like an electron The strength of the field is proportional to the size of the charge It varies with distance from the charge

As the charge only occupies a point in space, the field must look the same along any line that is drawn radially from that point. The field lines spread out as they get further from the charge, which indicates that the field is getting weaker.

The field of one more than one charge

The total force exerted on a charge by a collection of other charges can be calculated by adding up each of the one-on-one forces. This is because electric fields obey the principle of superposition. The field at any point due to a collection of charges is the sum of the separate fields due to each charge. In calculating the size of the field, or the force, one must remember that they are vector quantities.

Use the expression F= expression E=

where k=

and derive and use the

for the electric field due to a point charge

The electrostatic force between two charges spherical objects obeys an inverse square law: F= , where Q and Q are the two charges, r is the separation of the centres of the two charged objects, and k is a constant dependent upon the medium between the two charges. An equal magnitude force acts on each charged object-the forces are repulsive for two like charges and attractive for two opposite charged. The forces form Newtons third law pair. We can calculate the field strength at a position in a radial field by using Coulombs law. If the charge producing the field is Q and a small charge in the field is q: E= , and F= , so E=

The potential of a point charge

When an electric charges moves through a conductor, electric potential energy is converted into thermal energy, and there is a p.d. across the conductor. One would expect a similar energy conversion whenever one charge moves through the electric field of another. In many cases the situation is far simpler than in an electric circuit, which has complicated patterns of charge on cell plates or on the ends of components. An especially simple case is moving one point charge towards or away from another that is fixed in place. In an electric circuit, the p.d. between two points in the circuit is defined as the energy converted when a charge Q moves between two points in a circuit per amount of charge Q. In a circuit, the difference in potential between two points is fixed by the cells and components. When we are working with fields due to many large charges, the value of the potential at a single point is often useful. A point infinitely far from the positive charge is defined as having zero potential, and from this the value of the potential anywhere else in the field can be defined. The sign of the potential is determined by the sign of the charge. As potential is a scalar quantity, the sign is not telling us about direction. The significance of the sign is simply to indicate if the potential is higher or lower than the zero at infinity.

Investigate and recall that applying a potential difference to two parallel plates produces a uniform electric field in the central region between them, and recognise and use the expression E=
Not all fields are radial. An example of a uniform electric field is found in the space between two parallel plates, when there is a potential difference applied between the plates. There is a uniform field between the plates, where the field lines are parallel and equally spaced. The strength of the uniform field between the plates is given by E= , where V is the potential difference between the plates and d is their separation.

Investigate and use the expression C=

Capacitance
Any arrangement of two conductors isolated from one another by an insulator will form a capacitor. In the lab this may be two sheets of metal with small pieces of plastic between. In this case air forms the insulator. A commercial capacitor can be made by using sheets of wax paper to separate two sheets of thin metal foil. Very large areas of foil can be rolled up and contained in small cylinders. The two conductors forming the capacitor are always called the capacitor plates. Capacitors store energy by keeping electrical charges on their plates (separating charge). They can also be viewed as devices for storing charge. When a capacitor is charged up, one of the plates will have a positive charge and the other an equal negative charge. A voltmeter connected between the plates will record a p.d. The ratio between the charge and the p.d. is a constant for the particular capacitor, and is called the capacitance. The capacitance is determined by the size of the plates, the nature of the insulator and the way in which the plates are arranged. The unit used to measure capacitance is the farad.

Recognise and use the expression W=QV for the energy stored by a capacitor, derive the expression from the area under a graph of potential difference against charge stored, and derive and use related expressions Energy Stored In A Capacitor
When a cell is used to charge a capacitor, a certain amount of chemical energy is converted into electrical energy. Some of this appears as thermal energy in the resistance of the charging circuit, but this only accounts for half of the energy converted by the cell. The rest is stored in the capacitor. This is shown by the ability of a capacitor to provide energy to drive a current as it is discharging. The stored energy inside the capacitor is a form of potential energy Any situation in which opposite charges are held apart from each other against the action of their electrostatic attraction will store electrical potential energy This is similar to the storage of gravitational potential energy when two masses are held apart against their gravitational attraction

Investigate and recall that the growth and decay curves for resistancecapacitor circuits are exponential, and known the significance of the time constant RC Charging a capacitor
Charge starts to flow in the wires the instant that the cell is connected. As there is insulation between the plates of the capacitor, electrons are forced to accumulate on the plate connected to the negative side of the cell. Electrons move away from the other plate, partly because of the repulsion from the negative charge nearby and partly because of the attraction of the positive side of the cell. The initial current in the circuit is determined by the resistance r (which may just be the

resistance of the wires). Surprisingly, the uncharged capacitor does not resist the current arriving at one plate or leaving the other. On a graph of capacitor charge against time, the initial current is the gradient of the graph at the origin. As charge build up on the plates, it repels more charge than is arriving and the current drops as the charge on the plates increases. Charging will stop when the p.d. between the capacitor plates is equal to the e.m.f. of the cell.

Time constant
In principle, a capacitor can never charge up fully, because the rate of charging decreases as the charge increases. In practice, after a finite time the charging current becomes too small to measure, and the capacitor is effectively fully charged. The time taken to charge a capacitor in a given circuit is determined by the time constant of the circuit. The bigger the capacitance, the longer it takes to charge the capacitor. The larger the resistance, the smaller the current, which also increases the charging time. The half time is the time taken to halve the charging current. After every time interval t, the amount of extra charge still needed to fully charge the capacitor halves.

Discharging a capacitor
A charged capacitor that is isolated from a circuit should hold its charge indefinitely. However, leakage between the plates (due to the imperfect nature of the insulators) will eventually completely discharge the capacitor. A capacitor can be deliberately discharged by connecting its plates together via a resistor. On a graph of charge against time, the discharge current is given by the gradient at any point. So the gradient of the curve is proportional to its value at any point. There is only one type of curve in mathematics that has this property-the exponential curve. The time constant determines the time taken to halve the amount of charge on the plates. Energy is stored in the capacitor because work is done as charge moves through the net potential difference in the circuit. This becomes electrostatic potential energy

Recognise and use the expression Q=Q and derive and use related expressions for exponential discharge in RC circuits
The discharging process is an example of exponential decay, or a constant ratio change. The time taken for the charge on the capacitor to fall to a given fraction of the starting value is always the same for a given circuit. This depends upon the capacitance, C, and resistance, R in the circuit.

Explore and use the terms magnetic flux density B, flux and flux linkage N Magnetic flux
The flux linked to a coil (N) with multiple turns is the flux through one turn multiplied by the number of turns The flux cut by a moving wire is the magnetic field strength multiplied by the area swept out by the wire

Lines representing the magnetic field in a given region are called lines of magnetic flux. The number of lines passing through a unit area perpendicular to the field represents the flux density, B, and is a measure of the magnetic field strength. The e.m.f. induced in a circuit can be calculated from Faradays law of induction: e.m.f.= - rate of change of flux. The minus sign indicates the direction in which the e.m.f. is induced.

Investigate, recognise and use the expression F=BIlsin and apply Flemings left hand rule to currents Flemings left-hand rule
The magnetic strength, B, the velocity of the charge, v, and the magnetic force F are all vector quantities. In order to find the direction in which the force acts, given the direction of the field and the velocity, Fleming devised a simple rule that uses two fingers and a thumb on the left-hand. Flemings left-hand rule works for the other direction in which a positively charged particle is moving; in other words, it is defined for conventional current. In the case when a particle is an electronic, the second finger must point in the opposite direction to that in which the electron is moving. Also note that the direction of the magnetic force is always perpendicular to the plane in which the magnetic field and the charges velocity lie.

The force on a current-carrying wire

The magnetic force acting on an individual charged particle is too small to easily measure in the lab. The effect of the force can be seen in the deflection of an electron beam, but for measurement purposes the force on a current-carrying wire is more convenient. If the wire is crossed by a magnetic field of strength B, each electron drifting along the wire will experience a magnetic force equal to Bev. The total force acting on the wire is the sum of forces acting on each electron drifting through it. This enables us to define one tesla as being the magnetic field strength required to exert a force of 1 N on a wire of length 1 m carrying a current of 1 A. The magnetic force is acting on the electrons within the wire. However, the electrons form part of the structure of the metal, and so the force is passed on to the wire as a whole. This indirect force on current-carrying conductors is very important technologically. Without this force, devices such as electric motors, loudspeakers, and electric bells would not exist.

Magnetic field of a current-carrying wire

The shape of the magnetic field produced by a long straight wire is revealed by placing a ring of small compasses on a card with the current-carrying wire passing through a hole in the centre. The compasses turn to point in a closed circle round the wire, showing that the magnetic field lines form circular loops centre on the wire. If the card is moved along the length of the wire, the compasses stay pointing in circular loops. This shows that the compasses are drawing out a slice through a magnetic field pattern that is actually cylindrical and centred on the wire. As magnetic fields are vector quantities, a convention is required to specify their direction at any point in space.

The direction (or sense) of a magnetic field is specified by the way in which a small geographical compass would point if placed in the magnetic field at that point This is also the direction in which the magnetic force would act on a free north pole if monopoles existed In the case of the field round the long wire, the sense is determined by the direction of the current in the wire

Force between two current-carrying wires

If the currents in two parallel wires are in the same direction, the force is attractive. If the currents are in opposite directions, the force is repulsive. This can cause problems if wires carrying large currents need to be run next to one another, for example in overhead power lines.

Solenoid field
A solenoid is a tightly wound coil of wire The coils should touch each other for the most uniform magnetic field The wire must be insulated to prevent the current shorting between the wires

If one could wind an infinitely long solenoid from wire with a diameter that is much smaller then the diameter of the solenoid itself, the field inside would be uniform. There would be no field outside the solenoid. In practise, no solenoid can be finitely long, but the field outside is always very much weaker than the internal field. The direction of the field can be found by matching the direction of the current round the coil to arrows placed on the letters N and S. Magnetic field lines pass from N to S outside the solenoid and form S to N inside the solenoid. The use of the letters N and S refers to the fact that if the solenoid was hung from a thread and allowed to rotate freely, the N end would point in a geographically northern direction.

Magnetic poles
It is often very difficult to work out the direction in which circulating currents would exert magnetic forces on each other. The task can be simplified by the idea of magnetic poles. The north-seeking pole of the solenoid is the end from which the magnetic field emerges. The other end is the south seeking pole. A simple experiment shows that like poles repel, and unlike poles attract each other. When like poles come together, the currents in the solenoids are circulating in a different direction, and so will be repelling each other. Permanent bar magnets also have poles. Bringing two bar magnets together will produce forces between the currents within them that can lead to attraction or repulsion, depending on how they are aligned. It is not always possible to identify suitable poles in a magnetic field. The field of a long, straight wire, for example, does not have poles. In such cases the forces must be found using Flemings left-hand rule and the corkscrew rule. Poles are not the magnetic equivalent of charges. There is no experimental evidence to suggest that magnetic charges (monopoles) exist.

The turning force on a motor coil

An electric motor is basically a coil of wire carrying a current in a magnetic field. The forces acting on the coil will, if properly arranged, tend to make the coil rotate. However, as the coil rotates the size of the torque changes, so the rotation is not smooth. The size of the torque on the coil can be increased by Increasing the area of the coil Increasing the current in the coil Using more turns of wire in the coil Using a stronger magnetic field Making the magnetic field radial rather than uniform

The electric motor

Means of improving an electric motor: Using curved end pieces to the permanent magnet, helping make the field radial Using a cylindrical soft iron armature (rotating part) to increase field strength, and help make it radial Using more than one coil on the same axis, so one is nearly always parallel to the magnetic field Using a split-ring commutator. This swaps current direction every half turn, and stops the wires becoming tangled

In most electric motors, the magnetic field is generated by wrapping a solenoid round a piece of iron with curved end pieces. This is known as the field winding, to distinguish it from the armature winding (the rotating coil) the two windings can be connected in series or in parallel. With a serieswound motor the same current flows in both coils When the motor is stationary, a large current flows, because there is little resistance in the coils, and there is a large torque on the armature to get it started When the motor is rotating, electromagnetic induction produces an e.m.f. that opposes the current which is consequently reduced in both coils

Motors using a.c. are also series-wound. With a.c. field winding, the magnetic field is continually reversing. However, the torque in the armature does not reverse, as the current in that coil is reversed as well. Motors using a.c. are useful in situations where it is inconvenient to use d.c., such as in a mains-powered electric drill. In a shunt-wound motor, the field coil is connected in parallel to the armature coil. The current in the coils is different, so there is no strong initial push, but the rotation rate is more constant under varying load conditions.

Investigate and use the expression F=Bqvsin and apply Flemings left hand rule to charges

Magnetic force on a point charge

A magnetic field is a region of space in which a moving electrical charge experiences a magnetic force. Magnetic field strength needs to be defined in a different way to electric field strength because magnetic forces are only exerted on moving charges. The size of the force acting is proportional to the size of the charge and to the speed at which it is moving. If the path of the charge is not at 90 to the magnetic field lines, then the angle between the path and the field lines must also be taken into account.

Magnetically induced electric currents

The magnetic force on a moving charge can be used as a means of generating an electrical current. Any piece of conducting material contains charges, and simply moving the material through a magnetic field will result in forces being exerted on those charges. We normally think of magnetic forces as acting on currents, but really they act on any moving charge-even the charges within a wire that is moving. If a wire is moved at right angles to a magnetic field, then the magnetic force will drive the electrons along the wire. Effectively, there is an electric current along the length of the wire. The electrons collide with atoms as they drift along, so their kinetic energy is converted into thermal energy. The electrons are as much a part of the wire as the atoms within it, so the wire is also losing kinetic energy. This effect is known as current braking and can be used in practical situations. If there is some way of removing charge at one end of the wire and replacing it at the other, a continuous electrical current can be maintained in the wire.

Investigate and explain qualitatively the factors affecting the emf induced in a coil when there is relative motion between the coil and a permanent magnet and when there is a change of current in a primary coil linked to it Electromotive force (e.m.f.) across a moving wire
In the fairly simple situation of a straight wire moving through a magnetic field, the e.m.f. across the wire can be calculated. A constant current can be maintained by having it roll along a wire loop. The magnetic force acting on the electrons has a component perpendicular to the wire, which is the force (BIl) that acts on any current-carrying wire. This force acts in the opposite direction to the motion of the wire, and so an external force, F, is required to keep a constant speed.

The transformer
A transformer is a device for changing an alternating voltage from one value into another, and it plays a significant part in the distribution and use of electric power. Transformers step up the voltage produced by the generators to a very high value so that it can be transmitted efficiently to the user. Transformers are constructed by wrapping two coils round a common piece of soft iron. In order to ensure the efficient magnetic linkage between the coils, the core of the transformer is usually a closed loop (a magnetic circuit). This helps the core to become uniformly magnetised. If the

primary coil is connected to an a.c. supply, an alternating magnetic field will be set up in the coil. This will cause an alternating flux linkage in the secondary coil producing an e.m.f. by mutual induction. A transformers core is often made of laminated iron-layers of iron sandwiched by an insulator. This prevents the build up of eddy currents in the core whose magnetic fields disturb the flux linkage, and whose heating effects reduce the efficiency of the conversion. The greater the a.c. frequency, the thinner the laminations have to be. At very high frequencies it may be necessary to use fine wires bundled together or iron dust packed into the core. Very high-frequency transformers use cores made from non-conducting but magnetic materials, such as ferrites. These materials are similar to ceramics, and so can be quite brittle, and are far less easily magnetised than soft iron.

Investigate, recognise and use the expression = how it is a consequence of Faradays and Lenzs laws Lenzs law

and explain

The induced current is always in a direction that will help to counteract the change in flux that is producing it. If it were induced in the same direction, the field of the induced current would be in the opposite direction to the external field. The two fields ten to cancel inside the loop, which would reduce the flux linked, further inducing a greater current. This greater current would have a greater magnetic field, which improves the cancellation, and the problem gets worse. This situation would violate conservation of energy, as the current would increase almost without limit

The amount of magnetic flux interacting with a coil of wire is known as the magnetic flux linkage. Flux linkage = BAN. As F = Bqv, the faster the relative motion between a magnetic field and a conductor, the greater the induced emf. This is Faradays law. The magnitude of an induced emf is proportional to the rate of change of flux linkage