Question

Credit-Card Magnetic Strips Experiments carried out on the television show Mythbusters determined that a magnetic field of 1000 gauss is needed to corrupt the information on a credit card's magnetic strip. (They also busted the myth that a credit card can be demagnetized by an electric eel or an eelskin wallet.) Suppose a long, straight wire carries a current of 7.0A . How close can a credit card be held to this wire without damaging its magnetic strip?

Answer 1

14 μm

Step-by-step explanation:

The magnetic field due to a long straight wire is B = μ₀i/2πr where μ₀ = permeability of free space = 4π × 10⁻⁷ H/m, i = current = 7.0 A and r = distance of credit card from magnetic field.

So r = μ₀i/2πB since B = 1000 gauss = 1000 G × 1 T/10000 G = 0.1 T

r = 4π × 10⁻⁷ H/m × 7.0 A/(2π × 0.1 T)

r = 2 × 10⁻⁷ H/m × 7.0 A/0.1 T

r = 14 × 10⁻⁷ H/m × A/0.1 T

r = 140 × 10⁻⁷ m

r = 1.4 × 10⁻⁵ m

r = 14 × 10⁻⁶ m

r = 14 μm