Critical Properties of a Magnetic Field Line and Magnetic Field

Let’s begin by understanding what a magnet is. A magnet is anything that can generate its very own magnetic field. Any object or material can be a magnet if it can create a field of its own. Every magnet has two poles on either side, namely the north and the south pole (A magnetic Monopole is an exception to this, which you’ll learn about more in Particle Physics). A magnet attracts unlike poles while repelling like poles. This article aims to clear out all your doubts regarding magnetic fields and everything related to them all in one place.

What is a magnetic field? 

A magnetic field known as magnetic flux density is a vector field around every magnet. It is the region where the force of the magnet can be experienced. It is produced through moving electrical charges, and hence its strength can be changed by changing the flow of electrical charges. The strength of the field is inversely proportional to the distance from the magnet. This means the further away from an object’s magnet, the more negligible effect the field will have on the said object. It is the strongest at the poles.

The SI unit of the magnetic field is Tesla, symbol T. 

What are magnetic field lines?  

Magnetic field lines are imaginary lines that create a magnetic field around a magnet. The density of these lines determines the strength of the magnet. The denser they are, the stronger the magnet will be. These lines are the densest right at the poles, where the magnets are the strongest because of this crowding.

The lines strictly follow a fixed path starting from the north to the south. As a magnet has these two poles on either side, this path creates a circle around the magnet.

Magnetic field lines property

These are imaginary lines that determine everything about a magnet. From its strength to its direction. Hence, here is an exhaustive list of all the properties of magnetic field lines to understand their functioning in a magnet better:

• These lines are curved and continuous while forming a closed loop around a magnet.

• Each line is parallel to the other, which negates the possibility of any two lines obliterating each other.

• Outside, the flow is from the north pole to the south pole, but inside it’s from the south pole to the north pole.

• Drawing a tangent at any point on the magnetic field line will give the direction of the magnetic field at that point.

• The density of these lines is directly proportional to the strength of the magnetic field.

• The field is the strongest at the poles because of the proximity of all the lines near the poles.

How can you construct a magnetic field?

Now that we know what it is, let’s try and construct one for ourselves. As we know that the field is created because of the flow of electrical charges, so all we need is to construct an electromagnet to get our field. Here’s how to construct one for yourself:

• First, take an iron rod to act as the field’s core.

• Now, while leaving a bit of wire loose on either end, wrap the rest of the copper wire around the rod as tight as possible. The more turns you make, the stronger the field will be.

• Finally, connect each of the loose ends to a battery to let the current flow through the wire. And voila, you’ve just created your own magnetic field.

Make sure to get rid of the insulation on the copper wire.

Also, please don’t use a very powerful battery as it can cause excessive heating, which can be dangerous in some cases.

Production of magnetic field

The spinning of electrons generates micro magnetic forces in every object, but due to the random direction of the spin, it is cancelled out. But, The electrons inside a magnet are so perfectly arranged that all of them spin in the same direction. This arrangement doesn’t let any of the magnetic forces generated by the spinning be cancelled out. This results in the magnet being able to accumulate those micro magnetic forces from each electron to a bigger scale. 

Conclusion

A magnetic field is generated through the movement of electrical charges. It is made up of imaginary lines which are all parallel to each other and follow a curved path around the magnet. The movement of these lines is from the north pole to the south pole on the outside but vice versa on the inside. The density of these lines is directly proportional to the strength of the field. These lines can also be used to determine the direction of the field by taking a tangent at any point, which tells the direction of the field at that point.