Magnetism

Magnetism
• Force of attraction or repulsion cause by the
movement of charged participles
– It is not charge
– It is caused by the movement of charge
 Magnetic Poles
• Magnetic Poles: A region on a magnet
which produces magnetic forces
• The poles of a suspended magnet will
align themselves to the poles of the
Earth
• Fundamental Rule: Like poles repel;
opposite poles attract
 Magnetic Poles
• Magnetic poles behave similarly to
electric charges EXCEPT:
– Electric charges can
be isolated
– Magnetic poles
cannot
 Magnetic Fields
• Magnetic Field: The space around a magnet
in which a magnetic force is exerted
– The shape of a magnetic field is revealed by
magnetic field lines
• Directed away from north poles and toward
south poles
• The strength of magnetic fields are
measured in units of Tesla (T)
Nikola Tesla, (born July 9/10, 1856, Smiljan, Austrian
Empire [now in Croatia]—died January 7, 1943, New York,
New York, U.S.),
Magnetic Fields
Magnetic Fields
 Magnetic Fields
• Magnetic fields are caused by the motion of
electric charges
– Since motion is relative, so are magnetic
fields
• Magnets at rest consist of charges in motion
– Every spinning electron is a tiny magnet
– Electrons spinning in the same direction
produce a stronger magnet
Magnetic Domains
• Magnetic Domain: Clusters of aligned
atoms
Magnetic Domains
 Current in a Magnet?
What causes magnetism in a magnet?

Atoms are the basic building blocks

of the Elements. They are neutrally
charged, but composed of smaller
charged particles:
Quarks - combine to form neutrally
charged neutrons and positively
charged protons in the nucleus
Electrons – negatively charged
particles that orbit the nucleus in
variously shaped “shells” or energy
levels.

Electrons’ orbital motion as well as quantum mechanical spin produce

an electric current and hence a magnetic field in the atom.
 Current in a Magnet?
What causes magnetism in a magnet?

In most atoms, the magnetic Electron Structure of Iron

fields generated by each
electron cancel each other out.

In an atom two electrons can

pair up and occupy an energy
level, but their spins are
opposite of each other,
canceling their magnetic field.
4 unpaired
But in a few atoms (like Fe, electrons
Co, and Ni) there are unpaired
electrons in different energy
levels whose spins can align
and give the atoms an overall
magnetic field.
Magnetism in a Magnet

When elements like Fe form solids, they form crystalline

structures with little domains of many, many atoms all
aligned. Each domain is like a mini-bar magnet. When all
the domains are allowed to align, the whole object
takes on a large-scale magnetic field.
 Bell Ringer
• 1.) Draw the magnetic field lines for a bar
magnet with its North Pole on the bottom
and its south pole on top.
• 2.) How are the domains arranged in a
permanent magnet?
Magnetic Domains
• If the magnetic domains of a material can
align, this material is called
ferromagnetic.
Magnetic Domains
• Permanent magnets are made by placing
materials in strong magnetic fields
– Aligns the domains
• It is possible to weaken a magnet by
dropping or heating it
– Pushes the domains out of alignment
 Earth’s Magnetic
Field
• Currents in the molten part of Earth
beneath the crust create the Earth’s
magnetic field
– Moving charges loop within the Earth
• Earth’s magnetic field is not stable
– Magnetic pole and geographic pole are
offset
 Earth’s Magnetic
Field
• Magnetic poles are located:
– North: Hudson Bay region of northern
Canada (1800 km from geographic pole)
– South: Just south of Australia
• Magnetic Declination: Difference
between geographic and magnetic poles
Earth’s Magnetic
Field
 Earth’s Magnetic
Field
• The magnetic field of Earth reverses on an
irregular cycle
• 1 million years ago, the field completely
“shut off” for 10,000-20,000 years
• Its strength has decreased by 5% over the last
100 years
– Indicates a reversal possibly in the next 200
years
Earth’s Magnetic
Field
Earth’s Magnetic
Field
Courtesy of NASA, JPL and GSFC
 Hans
6-14. Oersted’s Experiment Christian
Oersted
(1777-1851)

Hans Christian Oersted discovered in 1820 that an

electric current near a compass causes the compass
needle to be deflected. Oersted's experiment showed
that every electric current has a magnetic field
surrounding it.
 Electric Current
• Recall: Electric current is
the movement of electric
charges
– Current produces a magnetic
field
• When current is carried
through a conductor, the
magnetic field produces a
pattern of concentric circles
 6-14. Oersted’s Experiment
According to the right-hand rule, the electron current
in a wire and the magnetic field it generates are
perpendicular to each other.
 6-14. Oersted’s Experiment
All magnetic fields originate from moving electric
charges. A magnetic field appears only when relative
motion is present between an electric charge and an
observer. Electric and magnetic fields are different
aspects of a single electromagnetic field.
 6-15. Electromagnets

An electromagnet consists of an iron core placed

inside a wire coil. The magnetic field strength of a
wire coil carrying an electric current increases in
direct proportion to the number of turns of the coil.
 6-15. Electromagnets

An electromagnet can
be used to move large
quantities of metal.
When the current is on
the magnet will pick up
the metal. When you
want to drop it you turn
off the power and the
electromagnet is
disabled and the metal
drops.
6-16. Magnetic Force on a Current

A magnetic field exerts a

sideways push on an
electric current with the
maximum push occurring
when the current is
perpendicular to the
magnetic field. Currents
exert magnetic forces on
each other. The forces are
attractive e when parallel
currents are in the same
direction and are repulsive
when the parallel currents
are in opposite directions.
Electric Current
• This concept is known as
Oersted’s Principle

• If the current switches

direction, the compass
needles will turn 180o

• The direction of the induced

magnetic field is determined by
the RIGHT HAND RULE
 Electromagnets
• If a current carrying wire is bent into a
loop:
– Field lines become bunched inside the
loop
• Two overlapping loops:
– Twice the concentration of magnetic
field lines
Electromagnets
Electromagnets
Electromagnets
• Electromagnet: A current-carrying coil of
wire with many loops
– The magnetic domains of a piece of iron
placed in the coil will be aligned
– The iron will intensify the magnetic field
– The strongest electromagnets use
superconductors as a core
Electromagnet
Applications
• An alarm bell uses an electromagnet
with a changing magnetic field to move
a plunger
Junkyardpickerupper
 Bell Ringer

How does a
speaker work?
Moving Particles
• A moving charged particle could be
deflected by a magnetic field
• For particles moving parallel to the
magnetic field, no deflection occurs
• For particles moving perpendicular to
the magnetic field, maximum deflection
occurs
Moving Particles
Moving Particles
• A current carrying wire will also be
deflected when it encounters a magnetic
field
– The particles trapped inside the wire are
deflected, therefore pushing the wire itself
• If the direction of the current is
reversed, the deflecting force acts in the
opposite direction
Moving Particles
Applications
• The following items use the idea
• TVs
• MRIs
• Aurora Borealis
 Bell Ringer
• When will a charged particle experience the
maximum amount of force when entering a
magnetic field?
 Motors
• A simple DC motor uses a permanent
magnet to establish a field where an
electromagnet is made to rotate
– When connected to a battery, the electro-
magnet will rotate one half turn
– Its south pole will align with the north pole
of the permanent magnet
Motors
 Motors
• These two devices change
the direction of the current
at exactly the correct
moment so that the poles
of the electromagnet
reverse
Brushes • This causes the
electromagnet to keep
Commutator spinning
 Motors

• As the armature passes through the horizontal

position, the poles of the electromagnet
reverse due to the commutator
 Meters
• Galvanometer: A sensitive instrument used to
detect electric current
– Consists of a magnetic needle centered
under loops of insulated wire
– Electric current will cause the needle to
pivot, detecting even very small currents
– May be calibrated to measure current
(ammeter) or voltage (voltmeter)
Meters