ELECTROMAGNETISM SFT 3013

TITLE: BRIEFLY AN EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE THE

EARTH MAGNETIC FIELD BY USING SOLENOID

LECTURERS NAME: PROF ROSLY BIN JAAFAR

NAMA
HASNOR IZZATI BT CHE RAZALI NORHAMIDAH BT ROHANI JUVITA BT SOUMIN NOR SHARLIDA BT MOHAMAD JALAILUDIN NOR ASMALIZA BT BAKAR

MATRIC NUMBER
D20091035119 D20091036643 D20091035100 D20091035098 D20091035095

SITI SAUFU BT MAT ISA 140

D20091035

EXPERIMENT: EARTHS MAGNETIC FIELD BY USING SOLENOID

OVERVIEW: In this laboratory experiment, you will explore the magnetic field produced by a solenoid. In this process, you will encounter the presence of the Earths magnetic field on your measurements as well.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Analyze the magnetic field produced at the end of a solenoid Determine the value of the horizontal component of the earth magnetic field, BE

Understand the impact of the Earths magnetic field on your results

INTRODUCTION: A solenoid is a coil of wire designed to create a strong magnetic field inside the coil. By wrapping the same wire many times around a cylinder, the magnetic field due to the wires can become quite strong. The number of turns N refers to the number of loops the solenoid has. More loops will bring about a stronger magnetic field. In general, magnetic field lines exit from the north pole of a magnet and enter at the South Pole, and always form closed loops. According to James S. Walkers book , Physics (2nd ed.), the direction of the

magnetic field, B, at a given location is the direction in which the north pole of a compass points when placed at that location.

In this experiment we used the solenoid to determine the earth magnetic field due to magnetic field produced by a current carrying solenoid is similar to the magnetic field produced by a bar magnet. The lines of magnetic force pass through the solenoid and return to the other end. One end of the solenoid acts like a N-pole and the other end a S-pole. The magnetic field inside the solenoid is stronger due to addition of magnetic field produces by each turn of solenoid. While, the magnetic field outside the solenoid is weaker due to cancelation effect of magnetic field.

The magnetic field strength B is a vector quantity so the addition of two magnetic fields obeys the parallelogram law. From this experiment, the solenoid is used due to it behave like a mangnetic bar in order to determine horizontal earth magnetic field. The axis of the solenoid was placed perpendicular to horizontal of the earth magnetic field. The relatonship between the magnetic field of solenoid and the earth magnetic field is shown in figure 1 : B

Figure 1 From figure 1:

BS BE

B
E

tan =

Calculation of the magnetic field on the axis of the solenoid and between its ends

FIGURE 2 From figure 2, the magnetic field at the center of the solenoid, a = b also the length of the solenoid, L = 2a. We can also replace n with N/L. Then, the equation becomes:

BS =

NI
L + 4R 2
2

For a long solenoid for which L >> R, then the magnetic field at the center can be approximated by:
BS =

NI
L

Therefore, the magnetic field strength at the end of solenoid is given by :

NI
2L

BS =

Where, o = 4 107 H m 1 (permeability of free space) I = the current in ampere N= the number of turns in the solenoid L= lenght of solenoid In this experiment, you will investigate the magnetic field produced at the end of solenoid which had be affected by the earths magnetic field. From the formula:
BS BE

tan =

tan =

NI 2 L ( BE )

The gradient of the graph tan against I

m=

NI 2 L ( BE )

Therefore,
BE =

NI 2 Lm

The number of turns N refers to the number of loops the solenoid has. More loops will bring about a stronger magnetic field.

APPARATUS: i. ii. iii. iv.

v. vi.

Connecting wire An digital ammeter A rheostat A DC power supply Silva magnetic compass 600-turn with a length 0.2m, 1000-turn with a length 0.4m and 2000-turn with a length 1.5m of solenoid wound on PVC tubing

vii. viii.

Wooden platform and rail Magnifying glass

PROCEDURES: 1. Place the large compass in the wooden rail, 20 cm from the center of the solenoid.

2. Connect all apparatus given as in Figure 1.

FIGURE 1

3. Set the DC power supply at 2 V and choose 1 A range for the ammeter
4. Connect the negative terminal of the power supply to the zero connector of the

solenoid while the positive terminal to the rheostat and straight to the 600 turns connector. 5. Adjust the rheostat until no current flow in the circuit.

6. With no current in the circuit, carefully adjust the setup so that the axis of the solenoid

is perpendicular to the horizontal component (bearing arrow) of earths magnetic field as shown in the diagram below.

7. To check this alignment, turn the bearing circle of the compass until E is lined up with the bearing arrow and then rotate the entire apparatus until the compass needle is pointing at 0 on the small black scale that runs inside the bearing circle. Use the magnifying glass to help you see the needle position.
8. Start from this point, slowly adjust the rheostat until the current value increases and

reach readable value. Record the angle, 1, pointed by the compass needle in Table 1.
9. Adjust the rheostat to obtain at least seven values of current and resultant angle of the

compass needle. Ensure that the deflection angle should not be more than 80o. Repeat step (9) by changing the polarity of the power supply. Record the angle, 2, pointed by the compass needle in Table 1.

10. Repeat steps 1 to 9 for number of turn of solenoid 1000 and 2000. Record the angle,

2, pointed by the compass needle in Table 2 and 3.

RESULTS: NO. OF TURN: N = 600 TABLE 1

No

Current, I

1 ()

2 ()

Average
A

tan

()

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

NO.OF TURN: N = 1000 TABLE 2

No

Current, I

1 ()

2 ()

Average
A

tan

()

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

NO.OF TURN: N = 2000 TABLE 3

No

Current, I

1 ()

2 ()

Average
A

tan

()

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

ANALYZE THE DATA: Use excel to make a plot of tan against current, I. Add a trendline to determine the slope for each turns of solenoid. Also perform a regression analysis for more complete information. One of the simpler items to check is the intercept value. What should the intercept be? Does your value agree with the theory? If not, try to explain the discrepancy.

REFERENCES:
1) D. MacIsaac, Solenoids and Electromagnets. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from Physics

Education at Buffalo State College

2) http://blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu/imagazine/2010/02/16/experiment-4-magnetic-field-

of- the-earth-by-elizabeth-fanciullo/
3) http://www.howmagnetswork.com/Electromagnetism.html 4) http://academics.hamilton.edu/physics/smajor/Courses/195Guides/L8_B_Field_Map.p

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