Magnetic Fields in Solenoids (Edexcel GCSE Combined Science: Physics): Revision Note

The Field around a Solenoid

• When a wire is looped into a coil, the magnetic field lines circle around each part of the coil, passing through the centre of it

Diagram showing the magnetic field around a flat circular coil

• To increase the strength of the magnetic field around the wire it should be coiled to form a solenoid

• The magnetic field around the solenoid is similar to that of a bar magnet

• The magnetic field inside the solenoid is strong and uniform

• Inside a solenoid (an example of an electromagnet) the fields from individual coils

  • Add together to form a very strong almost uniform field along the centre of the solenoid

  • Cancel to give a weaker field outside the solenoid

• One end of the solenoid behaves like the north pole of a magnet; the other side behaves like the south pole

  • To work out the polarity of each end of the solenoid it needs to be viewed from the end

  • If the current is travelling around in a clockwise direction then it is the south pole

  • If the current is travelling around in an anticlockwise direction then it is the north pole

• If the current changes direction then the north and south poles will be reversed

• If there is no current flowing through the wire then there will be no magnetic field produced around or through the solenoid

Poles of a Solenoid

• The strength of the magnetic field produced around a solenoid can be increased by:

  • Increasing the size of the current which is flowing through the wire

  • Increasing the number of turns in the coil in a given length

  • Reducing the length of the wire and maintaining the number of turns

  • Adding an iron core through the centre of the coils

• The iron core will become an induced magnet when current is flowing through the coils

• The magnetic field produced from the solenoid and the iron core will create a much stronger magnet overall