A charged particle experiences a force when moving through a magnetic field. Consider the field to be uniform and the charged particle to move perpendicular to it. If the field is in a vacuum, the magnetic field is the dominant factor determining the motion. Since the magnetic force is perpendicular to the direction of motion, a charged particle follows a curved path. The particle continues to follow this curved path until it forms a complete circle. Another way to look at this is that the...

Consider an infinitely long straight wire carrying a current I. The magnetic field at point P at a distance a from the origin can be calculated using the Biot-Savart law.

Eddy currents can produce significant drag on motion, called magnetic damping. For instance, when a metallic pendulum bob swings between the poles of a strong magnet, significant drag acts on the bob as it enters and leaves the field, quickly damping the motion.
If, however, the bob is a slotted metal plate, the magnet produces a much smaller effect. When a slotted metal plate enters the field, an emf is induced by the change in flux; however, it is less effective because the slots limit the...

A stationary charge creates and interacts with the electric field, while a moving charge creates a magnetic field.
Consider a point charge moving with a constant velocity. Like the electric field, the magnetic field at any point is directly proportional to the magnitude of the charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the source point and the field point. However, unlike the electric field, the magnetic field is always perpendicular to the plane containing the line...

Materials like iron, nickel, and cobalt consist of magnetic domains, within which the magnetic dipoles are arranged parallel to each other. The magnetic dipoles are rigidly aligned in the same direction within a domain by quantum mechanical coupling among the atoms. This coupling is so strong that even thermal agitation at room temperature cannot break it. The result is that each domain has a net dipole moment. However, some materials have weaker coupling, and are ferromagnetic at lower...

Paramagnets are materials with unpaired electrons that possess a finite magnetic moment. In the absence of a magnetic field, these moments are randomly oriented, and thus the net moment is zero. Under an external field, a torque acting on the moments tends to align them along the field's direction. However, the random thermal motion of electrons produces a torque opposite to the external field and tries to disorient the moments. These two competing effects align only a few moments along the...