Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A large flat coil of turns and radius carries a steady current of . A small search coil of turns and radius starts at the centre of the large coil, with its plane parallel to the large coil. Its two ends are joined, and its resistance is . It is pulled out along the axis at a steady , keeping its plane parallel, until it is very far away, as in the figure. The search coil is small enough that the field over its face can be taken as uniform, and its self-inductance can be ignored. Take .
The field of the large coil on its axis, a distance from its centre, is .
If the search coil were pulled twice as fast, which of the answers to (c), (d) and (e) would change, and by what factor? Explain.
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Plan. The emf follows the slope of . The charge needs only the total change in flux. The heat needs the square of the emf, integrated over the trip.
Step 1. Field at the centre (a). .
Step 2. Steepest slope (b). . Its size is greatest where , that is , so .
Step 3. Greatest emf (c). There . With :
Step 4. Charge (d). .
Step 5. Heat (e). With :
Answer: (a) . (b) . (c) . (d) . (e) .
Twice as fast. The greatest emf doubles, as . The charge does not change: it depends only on the flux at the start and the end. The heat doubles too: the power goes as but the trip takes half the time. This is why a search coil joined to a charge meter (a ballistic galvanometer) measures a field whatever the hand's speed.
Check. The heat equals the work done against the magnetic drag. The greatest drag, at , is : tiny, so the hand feels nothing.
Watch out. The emf is not greatest at the centre, where the field is strongest. At the centre the field is flat, its slope is zero, and so is the emf.
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