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# Category Archives: Electromagnetism

## What are the limitations of Van de Graff generator?

What are the limitations of Van de Graff Generator?

One of the limitations of Van de Graff generator is the potential to which the dome can be raised. In normal condition, discharge takes place when the potential reaches 3 x 106 V. The potential can be increased further by  placing the entire system in a container filled with high-pressure gas.

(Are there more? Visitors are requested to post as comments)

Why is the Large Hadron Collider as large as it is?  I heard today that the actual accelerator portion is only 40 Meters long, the rest is (mostly) magnets that steer the particles, so why does the accelerator need to be 17 miles in circumference?  Does making it larger provide any advantages?

## Force on Current carrying conductor

“Thin and flexible wire is kept on a table in the form of a rectangle and a strong current is send through it. How will be the shape of the wire as a result?”

Answer: The parallel sides are carrying currents in opposite directions and therefore there will be repulsion between them. So, the rectangular coil will try to expand and tend to become circular.

## How light maintain its speed after refraction?

How light maintain its speed after refraction? -(Naveen Saxena asked)

The speed of light in a medium is constant. When light enters from one medium to another, there is a change in the speed of light and the change is almost instantaneous. The speed of light in a medium depends on the electric and magnetic properties of the medium, more specifically, the electric permitivity and magnetic permeability of the medium.

The speed of light in a medium is given by

$v=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\mu \varepsilon }}$

Wikipedia says

“At the microscale, an electromagnetic wave’s phase speed is slowed in a material because the electric field creates a disturbance in the charges of each atom (primarily the electrons) proportional to the electric susceptibility of the medium. (Similarly, the magnetic field creates a disturbance proportional to the magnetic susceptibility.) As the electromagnetic fields oscillate in the wave, the charges in the material will be “shaken” back and forth at the same frequency. The charges thus radiate their own electromagnetic wave that is at the same frequency, but usually with a phase delay, as the charges may move out of phase with the force driving them . The light wave traveling in the medium is the macroscopic superposition (sum) of all such contributions in the material: The original wave plus the waves radiated by all the moving charges. This wave is typically a wave with the same frequency but shorter wavelength than the original, leading to a slowing of the wave’s phase speed. Most of the radiation from oscillating material charges will modify the incoming wave, changing its velocity. However, some net energy will be radiated in other directions or even at other frequencies .

Depending on the relative phase of the original driving wave and the waves radiated by the charge motion, there are several possibilities:

• If the electrons emit a light wave which is 90° out of phase with the light wave shaking them, it will cause the total light wave to travel more slowly. This is the normal refraction of transparent materials like glass or water, and corresponds to a refractive index which is real and greater than 1.
• If the electrons emit a light wave which is 270° out of phase with the light wave shaking them, it will cause the total light wave to travel more quickly. This is called “anomalous refraction”, and is observed close to absorption lines, with X-rays, and in some microwave systems. It corresponds to a refractive index less than 1. (Even though the phase velocity of light is greater than the speed of light in vacuum c, the signal velocity is not, as discussed above). If the response is sufficiently strong and out-of-phase, the result is negative refractive index discussed below.
• If the electrons emit a light wave which is 180° out of phase with the light wave shaking them, it will destructively interfere with the original light to reduce the total light intensity. This is light absorption in opaque materials and corresponds to an imaginary refractive index.
• If the electrons emit a light wave which is in phase with the light wave shaking them, it will amplify the light wave. This is rare, but occurs in lasers due to stimulated emission. It corresponds to an imaginary index of refraction, with the opposite sign as absorption.

For most materials at visible-light frequencies, the phase is somewhere between 90° and 180°, corresponding to a combination of both refraction and absorption.”

## Force on a charged particle

What is the force experienced by a charged particle moving perpendicular to an electric field? I understand that when it is moving parallel to the electric field, it accelerates.

When a charged particle is at rest in an electric field, it experiences a force in the direction of electric field (if it is a positive charge)

If it is moving in the direction of electric field, it will be accelerated.

If it is moving opposite to the electric field, it will be decelerated.

If it is moving perpendicular to the electric field, its trajectory will be a parabola, similar to that of a horizontal projectile

## Collection of Problems received from Class 12 Physics

These problems were posted by Geena. Hope that we will be able to post the answers to these questions soon; each in a separate post. By the time visitors can attempt to post their answers as comments to this post. (Only selected posts will be published)

Please note that the answers are not published until the Physics teachers are not satisfied with the answers. So, please be patient to get the correct answers rather than approximations in a haste.

If you want real time answers to your queries by a group of Physics Lovers, you can post them at the Physics Fans group with facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/askphysics/

1. A series battery of 10 lead accumulators each of emf 2 V and internal resistance 0.25 ohm is charged by a 220 V D.C. mains to limit the charging current a resistance of 47.5 ohm is used in series in the charging circuit. What is a) the power supplied by the mains and b) power dissipated as heat? Account for the difference of powers is (a) and (b).
2. A potentiometer wire has a length L and a resistance Ro. It is connected to a battery and
a resistance combination as shown. Obtain an expression for the potential drop per unit length of this potentiometer wire. What is the maximum emf of a ‘test cell’ for which one can get a ‘balance point’ on this potentiometer wire? What precaution should one take, while connecting this ‘test cell’ , in the circuit?
3. A cell, of emf 4 V and .internal resistance 0.5 Ω, is connected across a load of resistance (i) 7.5 Ω, (ii) 11.5 Ω. Calculate (i) the ratio of the differences in the emf of the cell and the potential drop across the load, and (ii) the ratio of the currents in the two cases.
4. In the figure shown, calculate the total flux of the electrostatic field through the spheres S1 and S2 The wire, AB, shown here, has a linear charge density, λ given by λ = kx where x is the distance measured along the wire, from the end A.
5. A straight wire, of length L, carrying a current I, stays suspended horizontally in mid air in a region where there is a uniform magnetic field B . The linear mass density of the wire is λ. Obtain the magnitude and direction of this magnetic field.
6. Two cells of same emf E, but different internal resistance rl and r2 are connected to an external resistance R as shown. in the figure. The voltmeter V reads zero. Obtain an expression for R in terms of rl and r2. Calculate the voltage across the cell of internal resistance r2. (Assume that the voltmeter V is of infinite resistance).
7. A galvanometer with a coil of resistance 120 ohm shows full scale deflection for a current of 2.5 mA How will you convert the galvanometer into an ammeter of range 0 to 7.5 A ? Determine the net resistance of the ammeter. When an ammeter is put in a circuit, does it read slightly less or more than the actual current in the original circuit? Justify your answer.
8. Figure shows a bar magnet M falling under gravity through an air cored coil C. Plot a graph
showing the variation of induced e.m.f (E) with time (t). What does the area enclosed by the
E – t curve depict ?
9. The electron in the hydrogen atom circles around the proton with a speed of 2.18 x 106 m/s in an orbit of radius 5.13 x 10 -11 m. What magnetic field does it produce at the centre?
10. A proton moves with a speed of 7.45 x 105 m/s directly towards a free proton originally at rest. Find the distance of the closest approach for the two protons. (Given: mass of proton = 1.67 x 10–27 kg and e = 1.6 x 10 –19 C)
11. Figure (a), (b) and (c) show three a.c. circuits in which equal currents are flowing. If the frequency of emf be increased, how will the current be affected in these circuits? Give reason for your answer.

## Direction of magnetic field due to a current carrying conductor

“How do we know the direction of magnetic field around the current carrying conductor?” Asked Nikhil

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