magnetic fields

Magnetic fields

The magnetic field sensor responds to a magnetic field. In this experiment the sensor is moved through Helmholtz coils and the variation in field is measured.

Apparatus
Clamp stand, Helmholtz coils, leads, power supply, metre rule, interface, magnetic field sensor.

Setting up
Arrange the apparatus as shown. Connect the Magnetic field sensor to socket 1 on the interface.
Some systems recognize the sensors you attach automatically, in others you do this yourself. If you can, set the range on the sensor to cover 0-10 mT. The software also needs to know that you will be entering distances, of between 0 and 100 cm, via the keyboard.

Recording the data
Start recording – you should be prompted to enter a distance at the keyboard. Set the probe next to the coil and type in 0 for the distance.
Move the probe 1cm into the coil. Type in 1 for the distance. Continue moving the probe and entering the distance each time.

Using the results
How is an increasing amount of magnetic field strength shown on your graph?
How does the field strength change with distance?
Save your data on disk. Print the graph.