Suppose you have 1A DC current flowing through 1 inch of straight wire. Physics textbooks always show circular, concentric magnetic lines around the wire at a cross-section "slice" of the wire where the direction of the lines is determined by the right-hand rule.
In reality, the lines extend across the entire length of the wire. So are the "lines" really discrete or are they continuous like a cylinder (length-wise) ? If not, then what's the distance between the lines along the length of the wire? Also, what's the distance between the concentric lines for a given cross-area?
I'm not even sure if these are meaningful questions but it'd help me to visualize what inductance really is (# of magnetic lines divided by current).
Thanks.
2007-09-06 05:51:21 · 6 answers · asked by ckrich_99 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The magnetic field "lines" aren't really lines at all. The lines as drawn are just indicative of the direction in which the magnetic field acts at that location. In the radial direction, they can be drawn arbitrarily close together. The magnetic field exists at any given distance, so a magnetic field line could be drawn anywhere. If you looked between two magnetic field lines, there is no reason you couldn't draw another line there.
If the magnetic field around the entire wire were drawn, it would normally be drawn with discrete lines because that is the convention. However, the magnetic field itself is actually continuous, with strength that varies with distance from the wire. The lines do not indicate that the magnetic field is not present in the spaces between the lines; they are just a visualization aid.
2007-09-10 05:11:03 · answer #1 · answered by DavidK93 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The lines are only there to show you the shape and direction of the field. It would actually be continuous. But don't think of the cylinder in a discrete manner concerning its location from the wire. The field begins close to the wire and gradually lessens as you move away.
2007-09-12 17:40:20 · answer #2 · answered by Alan B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Place a bar magnet under a sheet of paper, sprinkle fine iron filings over the paper, gently tap the paper with a finger and observe the filings lining up along the force lines, this indicates that the force lines are discrete and separate, where there are no filings lined up, there are no force lines.
2007-09-10 05:51:31 · answer #3 · answered by johnandeileen2000 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
For all of my friends, we greet each other with hugs. With me close friends, it is a hug and a kiss on the cheek. When I meet new adults it is usually a hand shake but when I meet adults who I have known for a while it is either a hug or an air kiss, which is what every one does in the area I live in.
2016-05-22 18:38:20 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The more you try and visualize the more confused you are going to become.
2007-09-06 06:52:59 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
your face lol
2015-06-01 21:28:12 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋