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Magnetic Field Produced By Current, Part 1

  • Biot-Savart Law: Suppose we have a wire carrying a current I. Biot-Savart law tells us how to calculate the magnetic field produced by the current. Consider an infinitesimal segment ds of the wire. This segment produces a magnetic field dB at a point P. Let r be the vector from ds to P. Then dB = (mu_0 / 4*pi) I ds x r / r^3, where mu_0 = 4*pi*10^-7 T.m/A (Tesla*meter/Ampere). The SI unit of the magnetic field is Tesla. The constant mu_0 is called the permeability of free space. The magnetic field produced by the whole wire is then obtained by integration.
  • In the lecture, Biot-Savart law is applied to the calculation of the magnetic field produced by a current carrying straight wire, a semicircular wire, and a circular wire.

Magnetic Field Produced By Current, Part 1

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AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism