Do circular electric lines of force exist ? why? what about magnetic lines of force?
Pl help
Yes to both questions. Current in a straight wire produces circular concentric magnetic lines of force around the wire. A changing magnetic field produced circular lines of electric force around the magnetic lines of force.
Thanks a lot.I was under the wrong impression that circular electric and magnetic lines of force do not exist.
Yes, circular lines of electric force do exist. These lines are also known as electric field lines and represent the direction and strength of the electric field around a charged object.
To understand why circular electric lines of force exist, we need to consider the behavior of electric charges. Electric charges create an electric field around them, which exerts a force on other charges in their vicinity.
For a positive charge, the electric field lines radiate outwards from the charge in all directions. This means that the electric field is directed away from the positive charge. Conversely, for a negative charge, the electric field lines point inwards towards the charge.
Now, when we consider a charge placed at the center of a circular conducting loop (like a wire loop), the electric field lines will be directed radially outwards or inwards from the center of the loop towards the charge, based on its polarity. This creates a set of circular lines of electric force around the charged object.
As for magnetic lines of force, they also exist. Unlike electric field lines, which represent the direction and strength of the electric field, magnetic field lines represent the direction of the magnetic field around a magnet or a current-carrying wire.
The magnetic field lines form closed loops, either outside or inside the magnet or wire. They flow from the north pole to the south pole of a magnet or follow a circular path around a current-carrying wire.
The existence of magnetic lines of force can be explained using Ampere's law and the right-hand rule. When a current flows through a wire, it creates a magnetic field around the wire. The magnetic field lines follow a closed loop path around the wire, forming concentric circles. The direction of these circles is determined by the right-hand rule.
In summary, both circular electric lines of force and magnetic lines of force exist. Electric lines of force represent the direction and strength of the electric field around a charged object, while magnetic lines of force represent the direction of the magnetic field around a magnet or a current-carrying wire.