Question

Drawing Conclusions Suppose you take a short piece of wire that is not attached to anything and move it up and down in a magnetic field. Explain whether or not a current will be induced, and why.

Answer 1

Answer: No. Circuit should be closed.

Explanation:

A changing magnetic field induces emf in a circuit which is placed in it. This induced emf causes current to flow through it. This is given by Faraday's law which states that induced emf results due to rate of change of magnetic flux.

$e = \frac{-d\phi}{dt}= -\frac {dB A} {dt}$

Current flows only through a closed circuit. Thus, when a wire is moved up and down in a magnetic field, it will not induce emf because the wire does not form a loop. It is an open circuit.

Answer 2

A current will not be induced because the wire is not part of a closed circuit.