Standard 6.4: How can we use the Right Hand Rule #2 to predict how moving charges are affected by magnetic fields (the direction of the magnetic force on the moving charge)?
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| Right Hand Rule #1 |
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| Right Hand Rule #2 |
In physics class, we discovered the Right Hand Rule #2 which allows scientists to discover the direction of a magnet's force on a current. Whenever a moving charge comes in contact with another magnet's magnetic field, it experiences a force. "F" is a force on a moving charge as a result of the magnetic field and in this rule, the
palm of a hand is represented as the force. In terms of using the Right Hand Rule #2, it would be correct to say that I place my thumb in the left direction because a current is moving left. I curl my fingers away from me going towards the paper on top of the wire, and my fingers curl towards me under the wire. This represents the magnetic field. When I open my fingers, my palm is facing toward the paper, proving that the magnetic field is going that way.
The Right Hand Rule #2 identifies all variables needed to figure out the characteristics of a magnetic field.
