Determine the force per meter on a lightning bolt at the equator that carries 20 000 A and is perpendicular to the Earth’s magnetic field, 3x10-5 T. What is the direction of the force if the current is straight up and the Earth’s field direction is due north which is parallel to the ground.
.6N/m
To determine the force per meter on a lightning bolt carrying 20,000 A at the equator, we can use the formula for the magnetic force:
F = BIL
Where:
F is the force
B is the magnetic field strength
I is the current
L is the length of the lightning bolt
In this case, the length of the lightning bolt is not given. However, since we only need to find the force per meter, we can assume a unit length of 1 meter. Therefore, L = 1 m.
Now let's calculate the force:
F = (3x10^-5 T) * (20,000 A) * (1 m)
F = 0.6 N
So, the force per meter on the lightning bolt is 0.6 N.
Regarding the direction of the force, we can use the right-hand rule. By pointing the thumb of your right hand in the direction of the current (straight up) and the fingers in the direction of the magnetic field (due north or parallel to the ground), the palm will indicate the direction of the force. In this case, the palm would face eastward (towards the equator).
Therefore, the direction of the force on the lightning bolt would be towards the east at the equator.