Magnetid Field Lines
The magnetic field lines are a visual and intuitive realisation of the magnetic field.
Their properties are :
(i) The magnetic field lines of a magnet (or a solenoid) form continuous closed loops. This is unlike the electric dipole where these field lines begin from a positive charge and end on the negative charge or escape to infinity.
(ii) The tangent to the field line at a given point represents the direction of the net magnetic field B at that point.
(iii) The larger the number of field lines crossing per unit area, the stronger is the magnitude of the magnetic field B. In Fig.(a), B is larger around region (ii) than in region (i) .
(iv) The magnetic field lines do not intersect, for if they did, the direction of the magnetic field would not be unique at the point of intersection.
One can plot the magnetic field lines in a variety of ways. One way is to place a small magnetic compass needle at various positions and note its orientation. This gives us an idea of the magnetic field direction at various points in space.
Their properties are :
(i) The magnetic field lines of a magnet (or a solenoid) form continuous closed loops. This is unlike the electric dipole where these field lines begin from a positive charge and end on the negative charge or escape to infinity.
(ii) The tangent to the field line at a given point represents the direction of the net magnetic field B at that point.
(iii) The larger the number of field lines crossing per unit area, the stronger is the magnitude of the magnetic field B. In Fig.(a), B is larger around region (ii) than in region (i) .
(iv) The magnetic field lines do not intersect, for if they did, the direction of the magnetic field would not be unique at the point of intersection.
One can plot the magnetic field lines in a variety of ways. One way is to place a small magnetic compass needle at various positions and note its orientation. This gives us an idea of the magnetic field direction at various points in space.