Question

There are 200 turns of wire around an electromagnet. The current in the wire is 6 amp. You want to increase the strength of the magnet to 1.5 times its present strength. What are two changes you can make to achieve your goal? Show all your calculations.

Answer 1

Answer:

i. increasing the number of turns of the wire by half, so that it equals 300.

OR

ii. increasing the value of the current by half of its initial value, so that it equals 9 amp.

Explanation:

An electromagnet consists of a coil of wire wound around a conductor which becomes induced with magnetism when current flows through the coil.

The magnetic strength of the electromagnet can be increased to 1.5 of its initial strength either by;

i. increasing the number of turns by half of its initial value

OR

ii. increasing the current by half of its initial value

The magnetic strength of an electromagnet = I × N

where; I is the amount of current and N the number of turns.

Given that: I = 6 A, N = 200, then;

magnetic strength = 6 ×200

                              = 1200 Ampere turns

i. Increasing the number of turns to 300 and I = 6 A, we have;

magnetic strength = 6 × 300

                              = 1800 Ampere turns

OR

ii. increasing the value of current by half of its initial value, so that N = 200 and I = 9 A;

magnetic strength = 9 ×200

                              = 1800 Ampere turns