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Consider an infinite sheet of parallel wires. The sheet lies in the xy plane. A

ID: 1261813 • Letter: C

Question

Consider an infinite sheet of parallel wires. The sheet lies in the xy plane. A current I runs in the -y direction through each wire. There are N/a wires per unit length in the x direction. (Figure 1)

Part A

Write an expression for B? (d), the magnetic field a distance d above the xy plane of the sheet.

Use ?0 for the permeability of free space.

Express the magnetic field as a vector in terms of any or all of the following: d, I, N, a, ?0, and the unit vectors i^, j^, and/or k^.

Consider an infinite sheet of parallel wires. The sheet lies in the xy plane. A current I runs in the -y direction through each wire. There are N/a wires per unit length in the x direction. (Figure 1) Part A Write an expression for B? (d), the magnetic field a distance d above the xy plane of the sheet. Use ?0 for the permeability of free space. Express the magnetic field as a vector in terms of any or all of the following: d, I, N, a, ?0, and the unit vectors i^, j^, and/or k^.

Explanation / Answer

We can do a loop that is a rectangle of length a that encloses a part of the plane.

By symmetry, the magnetic field is of constant magnitude everywhere along the length of the loop.

Thus, as there is a positive line integral for the upper and lower lengths,

Integral [B dl] = uo Ienc

As I enclosed is N*I,

2Ba = uo N I

Thus,

B = - [uo N I / (2a)] i^   [by right hand rule]   [ANSWER]