Question

A 2 m long wire carrying 2 A of current pointing to the right is placed in a magnetic field of 4 T directed away from you. How big is the force acting on the wire?

A. 16 N
B. 12 N
C. 4 N
D. 8 N

Answer 1

A. 16 N

• To calculate the force on the wire, we can use the formula:
• F = I * L x B

where F is the force on the wire, I is the current, L is the length of the wire, and B is the magnetic field.

In this case, we have:

• I = 2 A
• L = 2 m
• B = 4 T

Using the right-hand rule, we know that the direction of the force is downward. So, we can write the vector equation for the force as:

• F = -2 * (2 m) * (4 T) = -16 N

Here, the negative sign indicates that the force is directed downward, which is consistent with our use of the right-hand rule. Therefore, the magnitude of the force acting on the wire is 16 N. So, the correct answer is A. 16 N.