13.

1 MAGNETIC FIELD AND FILED LINES:

 Magnet and magnetism:
 The substances which have the property of attracting small
pieces of iron, nickel, cobalt, etc., are called magnets and this
property of attraction is called magnetism.
 At the microscopic level, there are billions of electrons
whizzing around the nuclei of the atoms that make up any solid.
Each electron is an extremely small magnet.
 Magnetism is an intrinsic characteristic of each electron similar
to mass and charge.
 Electrons also behave like a magnetic dipole; they act like they
possess a north and a south pole.

 Magnetic substances:
 The substances which are attracted by a magnet are called
magnetic substances.
 Examples: Nickel, Iron, Cobalt, Steel (NICS)
 Natural magnet:
*It is a piece of lodestone, which is a black iron oxide (Fe3O4)
that is capable of attracting similar pieces of iron called
magnetite.
*They are naturally existing magnets used by humans to find
the directions.
*The word lodestone means a leading stone.
 Artificial magnet:
*Pieces of iron and other magnetic materials which can be
produced by man-made means and have a stronger magnetic
field made to acquire the properties of natural magnets are
called artificial magnets. They can also be shaped as required.
* Example: Bar magnet; When an artificial magnet is shaped in
the form of a bar, it is called a bar magnet.

 Non-magnetic substances:
 The substances which are not attracted by a magnet are called
non-magnetic substances.
 Examples: wood, glass, copper, aluminium, brass, paper.
 Why does a piece of iron get attracted to a magnet, while a piece of wood
does not?
At the microscopic level, there are billions of electrons whizzing
around the nuclei of the atoms that make up any solid. Each electron is an
extremely small magnet. Magnetism is an intrinsic characteristic of each
electron similar to mass and charge. Electrons also behave like magnetic
dipole; they act like they possess a north and a south pole.

This essentially means that every material should act as a magnet

since they are all made up of atoms that have electrons but this is not true.
In fact, there are only some materials such a iron, nickel and cobalt
which are classified as magnetic materials. In such materials, the electrons
(acting as tiny magnets) align themselves in a particular direction in the
presence of a magnet. They are either attracted or repelled by a magnet.

In other materials, the electrons align in such a way that there is no net
magnetic effect in those materials.

So, a piece of iron gets attracted to a magnet because the electrons in

iron are aligned in the same direction while those in the wood are aligned in
different directions.
 Magnetic poles:
 The regions of concentrated magnetic strength inside the
magnet just near its ends are called magnetic poles.
 The pole of a freely suspended magnet which points towards
north is called north pole and that which points towards south,
is called south pole.
 Law of magnetic poles:
It states that like poles repel while unlike poles of magnets
attract each other.
 Bar magnet:
A bar magnet is a rectangular piece of an object, made up of
iron, steel or any other ferromagnetic substance or ferromagnetic composite,
that shows permanent magnetic properties. It has two poles, a north and a
south pole such that when suspended freely, the magnet aligns itself so that
the northern pole points towards the magnetic north pole of the earth.
 In a bar magnet, the north and south poles are distinctly marked. Is it
possible to separate/isolate these poles?
In magnetic materials, the magnetic moments of the electrons
add up to give the material a net magnetic field. This is why a permanent
magnet has a permanent magnetic field.

When you break a permanent magnet into multiple pieces, each

piece contains electrons, whose magnetic moments add up, making each of
these tiny pieces act like an individual permanent magnet. Each of these
pieces will have a north pole and a south pole. We can keep breaking the
magnet into increasingly smaller pieces but no matter how small a piece is, it
will have its own set of poles. This is because monopoles, that is,
magnetically charged particles that have only one pole, do not exist.
 Properties of a magnet:
1. Magnets attract ferromagnetic materials.
2. Every magnet has two poles i.e., North and South.
3. Like poles repel each other.
4. Unlike poles attract each other.
5. A freely suspended bar magnet aligns itself in nearly north-south
direction, with its north pole towards geographical south direction.
6. The magnet's poles are arranged in pairs. i.e. magnetic monopole
doesn't exist.

 Magnetic field:
 A field is a map of forces surrounding any object that can act on
another object at a distance without apparent physical contact.
Gravitational fields map gravitational forces, electric fields map electrical
forces, and magnetic fields map magnetic forces.
 A magnetic field is a region around a magnet within which its
influence . i.e. magnetic force, can be experienced. The ability of a
magnet to attract or repel a magnetic material depends on the strength of
the magnetic field.
 Its SI unit is Tesla (T).
 Magnetic field has both magnitude and direction. It is a vector
quantity.
 Magnetic field can be described with the help of a magnetic compass.
The needle of a magnetic compass is a freely suspended bar magnet.
 Earth’s magnetic field:
 The needle of a magnetic compass is a small, lightweight magnet balanced
on a nearly frictionless pivot point.
 When it is free from the influence of any other magnet in its vicinity, its
north pole aligns towards the Geographic North Pole of the Earth. This is
because the Earth acts like a giant magnet whose Geographic North Pole
is the Magnetic South Pole and the Geographic South Pole is the
Magnetic North Pole.
 Compass needle:
 A compass needle is a small bar magnet with north and south
pole.
 The magnetic needle of the compass is freely suspended, which
always aligns itself to the North-South direction of Earth.
Hence, it is used to find out the directions for navigation.
It deflects in the presence of magnets but not magnetic
materials. Hence, it cannot detect magnetic materials.

 Why does the needle of a magnetic compass undergo deflection when near a
bar magnet?
 The needle of a magnetic compass is a small, lightweight
magnet balanced on a nearly frictionless pivot point.
 When it is free from the influence of any other magnet in its
vicinity, its north pole aligns towards the Geographic North
Pole of the Earth. This is because the Earth acts like a giant
magnet whose Geographic North Pole is the Magnetic South
Pole and the Geographic South Pole is the Magnetic North
Pole.
 However, if it is placed near the north pole of a bar magnet, the
needle automatically gets deflected in such a way that its south
pole points towards the north pole of the bar magnet.

 Similarly, if it is placed near the south pole of the bar magnet,

the north pole of the needle points towards the south pole of the
bar magnet.

 Therefore, the needle of the compass deflects when the

magnetic field of the bar magnet intercepts the magnetic field of
the needle in the compass as it experiences a different magnetic
field which results in the movement of the needle that is either
attraction or repulsion.
 Like electric fields, do magnetic fields also have an associated direction?
When the compass is moved around a bar magnet, the compass needle
aligns itself such that there are different orientations for different positions
around the magnet. This indicates that the magnetic field has an associated
direction that varies from point to point.

 Magnetic field lines:

 The imaginary lines of magnetic field around a magnet are
called magnetic field lines.
 Magnetic field lines can be mapped by tracing the movement of
the needle of a magnetic compass around a bar magnet.
 When the compass is placed very near to the north pole of the
magnet, its south pole is aligned towards the north pole of the magnet. The
magnetic compass is then placed in a new position such that its south pole
occupies the position previously occupied by its north pole. On repeating
this procedure till the south pole of the magnet is reached, a curved line that
emanates from the north pole and terminates at the south pole of the magnet
can be observed. When different points near the north pole of the magnet are
chosen and the same procedure is repeated, various lines of different
curvature are obtained. These curved lines represent the magnetic field and
are known as magnetic field lines.
 Magnetic field lines can also be obtained by sprinkling iron
filings uniformly around a bar magnet. The iron filings move and align
themselves along the magnetic field lines.
 What is a magnetic field? How can the direction of magnetic field lines at a
place be determined?
A magnetic field is a picture that we use as a tool to describe how the
magnetic force is distributed in the space around and within something
magnetic. The direction of the magnetic field lines at a place can be
determined by using a compass needle. The north end of the needle of the
compass indicates the direction of the magnetic field at the point where is
placed.
The direction of the magnetic field at any point on the field line is
tangential to the line.

 Do the magnetic field lines terminate at the south pole?

No, magnetic field lines do not terminate at the south pole. They
continue through the magnet such that inside the magnet, the magnetic field
lines point from the south pole to the north pole. This means that magnetic
field lines are continuous and form closed loops.

 Characteristics of Field lines:

(i) Field lines arise from North pole and end into South pole of the magnet.
(ii) Field lines are closed curves.
(iii) Field lines are closer in stronger magnetic field.
(iv) Field lines never intersect each other as for two lines to intersect, there
must be two directions of magnetic field at a point, which is not possible.
(v) Direction of field lines inside a magnet is from South to North.
(vi) The relative strength of magnetic field is shown by degree of closeness
of field lines. Closer the lines, more will be the strength and farther the lines,
less will be the magnetic field strength.
 Magnetic line of force:
It may be defined as the path in a magnetic field among which a unit
north pole tends to move when allowed to do so. It may also be defined as a
curve, the tangent to which at any point gives the direction of the magnetic
field at that point.

 Magnetic field strength:

 It has been observed that the deflection of the compass needle
increases as the compass is brought near the poles of the magnet, indicating
a stronger magnetic field.
 If we observe the magnetic field lines, we can see that they are
closer to each other near the poles of the magnet.
 So, it can be concluded that the strength of the field is
proportional to the closeness (or density) of the lines; the closer the field
lines are, the stronger the magnetic field is.
 Two magnetic field lines do not intersect each other due to the
fact that the resultant force on a north pole at any point can be only in one
direction. But if the two magnetic lines get intersect one another, this means
that resultant force on a north pole placed at the point of intersection will be
along two directions (the compass needle would point towards two
directions) which is not possible.

 How do we measure the strength of a magnetic field?

Using, magnetic field lines; if the lines are closer, it means the
intensity of the field is strong in that region and wherever the lines are far
apart, the intensity of field is weak.