Chapter 1 .

Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism
Magnetism plays an integral part in almost every electrical device used today in industry,
research, or the home. Generators, motors, transformers, circuit breakers, television, computers, tape
recorders, and telephones all employ magnetic effects to perform a variety of important tasks

Electromagnetism is the study of magnetic fields set up by the passage of electric currents
through a system of conductors. Current produces a magnetic field, around a conductor. The invisible
lines of force of the magnetic field form a concentric circular pattern around the conductor and are
continuous along its length.

Magnetic fields
In the region surrounding a permanent magnet, there exists a magnetic field, which can be
represented by magnetic flux lines similar to electric flux lines. Magnetic flux lines, however, do not have
origins or terminating points like electric flux lines but exists in continuous lops. The symbol for magnetic
flux is the Greek letter (phi)

The magnetic Flux lines radiate from North Pole to the South Pole returning & the North Pole to the
South Pole through the metallic bar. The strength of a magnetic field in a particular region is directly
related to the density of flux lines in that region.

N S

If unlike poles of two permanent magnets are brought together, the magnets will attract, and the flux
distribution is shown below. If like poles are brought together, the magnets will repel and the flux
distribution is also shown below.

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 N S N S

Flux distribution for two opposite pole.

S NN NN SS

Fig. Flux distribution for two like poles

If a nonmagnetic material, such as glass or copper, is placed in the flux paths surrounding a
permanent magnet, there will be an almost unnoticeable change in the flux distribution.

However, If a magnetic material, such as soft iron, is placed in the flux path, the flux lines will
pass through the soft iron rather than the surrounding air because flux lines pass with greater ease
through magnetic materials than through air. This principle is put to use in the shielding of sensitive
electrical elements and instruments that can be affected by stray magnetic fields.

Soft
iron
Sensitive
N S
device

Soft iron for magnetic shielding

Glass
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 The unit of magnetic flux is the Weber (wb). One Weber equals 108 lines. In most practical
situations, the Weber is very large unit, thus micro Weber (wb) is more common. One micro Weber
equals 100 lines of magnetic flux

Magnetic flux density

The flux density is the amount of flux per unit area in the magnetic field. Its symbol is B, and its
unit is tesla (T). One tesla equals one Weber per square meter (wb/m2)

B= /A
Where  is the flux and A is the area perpendicular to the magnetic field.

Example. Find the flux density in a magnetic field in which the flux in o.1 m2 is 800wb.

800wb
B= /A = 2
 8000 x10 6 T
0.1m

Example. If the flux density in a certain magnetic material is 2.3T and the area of the material, is o.38
m2, what is the flux through the material?

Solution: - There are 39.37in in one meter, therefore

= 0.38in2 (1m2(39.37in) 2) = 245.16x10-6m2

 = BA =(2.3T) (245.16x10-6m2) = 5.64x 10-4 wb.

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Magnetic circuits
The complete closed path followed by any group of magnetic flux lines is referred to as a magnetic
circuit. One of the simplest forms of magnetic circuit is the ring shown in Figure below. Where the steel
ring provides the space in which the magnetic flux is created. Most rings are made like anchor rings in
that their cross-section is circular such a ring is called a toroid.

There are several important properties relating to electromagnetic fields.

Permeability (µ): The ease with which a magnetic field can be established in a given material is
measured by the permeability of that material. The higher the permeability, the more easily a magnetic
field can be established. The permeability of a vacuum (µ o) is 4x 10-7 wb/At.m. Moreover, is used as a
reference. Ferromagnetic materials typically have permeability hundreds of times larger than that of a

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vacuum, indicating that magnetic fields can be set up with relative ease in these materials.
Ferromagnetic materials include iron, steel, nickel, cobalt and their alloys.

The relative permeability (µr) of a material is the ratio of its absolute permeability to the permeability
of a vacuum

µ r= µ / µo

Reluctance (): It is the opposition to the establishment of a magnetic field in a material. The
value of reluctance is directly proportional to the length (  ) of the magnetic path, and inversely
proportional to the permeability (μ) and to the cross sectional area A of the material as expressed by the
following equation.,



A [At/wb]
Example. What is the reluctance of a material that has a length of 0.05 m, a cross- sectional area of
2 -6
0.012 m , and a permeability of 3500x10 Wb/At.m?

 0.05m
= 
A (3500x10 Wb / At.m)(0.012m 2
6

= 1190.48 at/wb.

Magneto motive force (mmf): It is the cause to produce the magnetic field. The unit of mmf is
ampere-turn (At), and is established based on the current in a single loop (turn) of wire. The formula for
mmf is as follows:

Fm= NI

Where Fm is mmf, N is the member of turns of wire, and I is the current.

The amount of flux depends on the magnitude of the mmf and on the reluctance of the material, as
expressed by the following equation

 = Fm/

This is known as the ohm’s low for magnetic circuits because the flux () is analogous to current; the
mmf (Fm) is analogous to voltage; and the reluctance () is analogous to resistance

I
Φ

Page 5 of I18 
FM
 Magnetic field intensity (H):It is a measure of the effort that a current is putting into the
establishment of a magnetic field the strength of the magnetic field flux produced in the core also
depends on the material of the core .
NI
H and B=µH
l

The unit of magnetic flux intensity is ampere-turns per meter (At/m)

Example. How much flux is established in the magnetic path of the figure given below if the reluctance
of the material is 0.28 x 105 At/wb?

NI
Soln  = Fm / = 3A

+
V 5
t
(5tx3 A
 5
 5.36 x10 4 wb
0.28 x10 At / wb

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Force On a Current Carrying Conductor

If a current carrying conductor is placed in magnetic field produced by a magnet, then the fields
due to the current carrying conductor and the magnet intact and cause a force to be exerted on the
conductor. The force on the current caring conductor in a magnetic field depends up on:-

 The flux density of the field, B

 The strength of the current, I
 The length of the conductor perpendicular to the magnetic field, l sin when  is the angle
between the field direction and the
length l of the conductor.
I
 The directions of the field and the
current
l
N θ S
Hence F=BIlsinθ

Example. A conductor carries a current of 20A and is at right angle to a magnetic field having a flux
density of 0.9T. If the length of the conductor in the field is 30 cm, calculate the force acting on the
conductor. Determiner also the value of the force if the conductor is inclined at an angle of 300 to the
direction of the field (ans. 5.4N, 2.7N)

Electromagnetic induction

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In 1831, Michael Faraday made the great discovery of electromagnetic induction,namely a method of
obtaining an electric current with the aid ofmagnetic flux. He wound two coils, A and C, on a steel ring R,
as in Fig. below and found that, when switch S was closed, a deflection was obtained ongalvanometer G,
and that, when S was opened, G was deflected in the reversedirection. A few weeks later he found that,
when a permanent magnet NS was moved relative to a coil C , galvanometer G was deflected in
onedirection when the magnet was moved towards the coil and in the reversedirection when the
magnet was withdrawn; and it was this experiment thatfinally convinced Faraday that an electric current
could be produced by themovement of magnetic flux relative to a coil. Faraday also showed thatthe
magnitude of the induced e.m.f. is proportional to the rate at which themagnetic flux passed through
the coil is varied. Alternatively, we can say that,when a conductor cuts or is cut by magnetic flux, an
e.m.f. is generated inthe conductor and the magnitude of the generated e.m.f. is proportional tothe rate
at which the conductor cuts or is cut by the magnetic flux.

When a conductor is moved through a magnetic field, a voltage is produced across the
conductor. This principle is known as electromagnetic induction, and the resulting voltage is an induced
voltage. The principle of electromagnetic induction is widely applied in electrical circuits in the study and
operation of transformers, electrical motors and generators.

When a wire is moved across a magnetic field, there is a relative motion between the wire and
the magnetic field. Likewise, when a magnetic field is moved past a stationary wire, there is also relative
motion. In either case, there is an induced voltage in the wire as a result of this motion.The amount of
the induced voltage depends on the rate at which the wire and the magnetic field move with respect to
each other: The faster the relative speed, the grater the induced voltage.

The induced voltage Vind set up between the ends of the conductor is given by

Vind=BlV

Where V is the velocity of the conductor, l is the length of the conductor and B is the magnetic flux
density of the region

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 But if the conductor moves at an angle o to the field then:

Vind=BlVsin

Example. A conductor of 300mm long moves at a uniform magnetic field of flux density 1.25T.
Determine the current flowing in the conductor when its ends are connected to a load of 20 resistor.
(ans. 75mA)

Example. At what velocity must a conductor 75mm long cut a magnetic field of flux density 0.6T if 9v is
induced in it?

 Assume the conductor, the field and the direction of motion are mutually perpendicular.
 Assume the direction of motion and the field are at 30o.(ans. 200m/s, 400m/s)


N +
S

V
in

If a load is connected across the terminals of the moving conductor in magnetic field, the induced
voltage courses a current through the load which is known as induced current.

Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction

Michael Faraday discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction in 1831. He found that
moving a magnet through a coil of wire induced a voltage across the coil, and that when a complete
path was provided; the induced voltage caused an induced current, as you have seen. Faraday’s
observations are as follows:

 The amount of voltage induced in a coil is directly proportional to the rate of change of the
magnetic field with respect to the coil (d/dt)
 The amount of voltage induced in a coil is directly proportional to the number of turns of wire in
the coil (N)

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 V
Faraday’s law is expressed in equation form as follows:
i
 d 
Vind= N   n
 dt 

Eg. Apply Faraday’s law to find the induced voltage across a coil with 100 turns that is located in a
 d 
magnetic field that is changing at a rate of 5 b/s So vind== N   = 100t(5b/s)= 500v
 dt 

Analogy between D.c. electric circuit and magnetic circuit

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