Magnetic Force on a Current-Carrying Wire
Enter your known values, leave one input blank, and solves for the missing one. Try different units for next level excitement!
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A wire full of drifting charges feels the magnetic push collectively — the motor effect that spins every electric motor and drives every loudspeaker cone. The force peaks when the wire lies perpendicular to the field and vanishes when parallel. The angle θ is not solvable here: arcsin cannot distinguish θ from its supplement 180° − θ, so only F, B, I, and L can be computed.
Magnetic Force on a Current-Carrying Wire
Where
- = Magnetic force
- = Magnetic flux density
- = Current
- = Wire length in field
- = Angle between wire and B
Missing one of these? Work it out first, then come back
- Magnetic force — Magnetic Force on a Moving Charge, Newton's Second Law
- Magnetic flux density — Magnetic Force on a Moving Charge, Magnetic Flux (Φ = BA cos θ)
- Current — Ohm's Law, Electrical Power (P = VI)
- Wire length in field — Resistance of a Wire (R = ρL/A), Force Between Parallel Wires
- Angle between wire and B — Dot Product from Magnitudes and Included Angle, Cross Product Magnitude