Two parallel wires separated by 4.00 cm repel each other...

Two parallel wires separated by $4.00 \mathrm{~cm}$ repel each other with a force per unit length of $2.00 \times 10^{-4} \mathrm{~N} / \mathrm{m} .$ The current in one wire is 5.00 A. (a) Find the current in the other wire. (b) Are the currents in the same direction or in opposite directions? (c) What would happen if the direction of one current were reversed and doubled?

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Key Concepts

Magnetic Field Around a Current-Carrying Conductor

This concept involves understanding that a current-carrying conductor generates a magnetic field that forms concentric circles around the wire. Its strength decreases with increasing distance from the wire and is described by principles such as Ampere’s law. Understanding this helps in analyzing how one current-carrying wire influences another.

Force Between Parallel Currents

Two current-carrying conductors exert forces on each other due to their magnetic fields. The magnitude of the force per unit length is directly proportional to the product of the currents and inversely proportional to the distance between the wires. This principle allows determination of both the magnitude and the nature of the force (attractive or repulsive) based on the currents in the wires.

Right-Hand Rule

The right-hand rule is used to determine the direction of the magnetic field around a conductor and the force direction on a current in a magnetic field. It provides a straightforward method to predict how wires interact—whether they attract or repel—based on the orientation and direction of the currents.

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