A student makes a magnet by winding wire around a nail and connecting the wire to a battery. Which end of the nail will be the north pole?
student makes a magnet by winding wire around a nail and connecting it to a battery. Which point is
the north pole?
In order to determine which end of the nail will be the north pole of the magnet, we need to consider the direction of the current flow in the wire. When the wire is connected to a battery, one end becomes positively charged and the other end becomes negatively charged, creating an electric current in the wire.
According to the right-hand rule, if you grip the wire with your right hand so that your thumb points in the direction of the current flow, then your fingers will curl in the direction of the magnetic field created by the current.
In this case, if you imagine gripping the wire with your right hand and your thumb pointing towards the battery, your fingers will curl around the nail in a clockwise direction. This indicates that the end of the nail connected to the negatively charged wire (the negative terminal of the battery) will be the north pole of the magnet.
So, the end of the nail connected to the negatively charged wire will be the north pole of the magnet.
To determine which end of the nail will be the north pole of the electromagnet, you need to apply the right-hand rule. This rule states that if you curl your right-hand fingers around the wire in the direction the current is flowing (from positive to negative terminal of the battery), your thumb will point in the direction of the magnetic field.
In this setup, once the wire is connected to the battery, a current will pass through it. Following the right-hand rule, if you curl your right-hand fingers around the wire in the direction of the current, your thumb will point towards the north pole of the electromagnet.
So, the end of the nail that lies in the direction of your thumb when using the right-hand rule will be the north pole of the electromagnet.