Question

An infinitely long current carrying wire carries current I2. Imagine a wire carrying current I1 of length L that can be oriented in space in anyway you choose. Describe how to orient it in a way that the magnetic force on the deformable wire is zero at every point.

Answer 1

By right hand thumb rule the magnetic field on a current carrying wire is around the wire.

The magnetic force experienced by a wire is given by

F = iBl Sin

where i is current inside the wire, B is the magnetic field that the wire is placed

l is length of the wire and is the angle between the direction of current and the magnetic field

Hence if is zero then the force experienced by the wire will be zero

As the magnetic field is in the form of a loop around the infinite wire. Hence the finite wire has to b e oriented in the form of a loop around the infinite wire