Question

List out the materials required for the Oersted experiment of electromagnetism. Write the procedure of the experiment. What do you understand by the experiment?

Answer 1

Hans Christian Oersted, a Danish scientist, explored the relationship between electricity and magnetism through his famous Oersted experiment in which he observed the deflection of a magnetic compass needle when brought near a current carrying wire.

Complete step by step answer:
The Oersted experiment was performed by Hans Christian Oersted in an attempt to know the relationship of electricity and magnetism and whether they are related to each other. His experiment was the foundation stone for the discovery that electricity and magnetism are perfectly interrelated to each other and are in fact branches of one common phenomenon, that is, electromagnetism.
In his experiment, Oersted observed the deflection of a magnetic compass needle when kept above and below a current carrying wire. He observed that the magnetic compass needle showed a deflection when kept above and below the wire. He also observed that the deflections were in opposite directions for when the compass was kept and for when it was kept below the wire. He also observed that the deflection changed to the opposite direction, when the direction of current in the wire was reversed.
Apparatus required for the experiment –
A standard wire with bare ends, a low voltage DC power supply and a magnetic compass.
Procedure for the experiment –
(i)The two ends of the wire are connected to the two terminals of the DC power supply.
(ii) The supply is switched on.
(iii) The magnetic compass is brought over the current carrying wire and its direction of deflection is noted.
(iv) The magnetic compass is brought below the current carrying wire and its direction of deflection is noted.
It can be observed that there is a deflection of the current needle when brought over the current carrying wire and this deflection becomes opposite in direction when the compass is brought below the wire.
From this we understand that a current carrying wire produces a magnetic field of its own which produces the deflection in the magnetic compass needle. Hence, we realize that a current carrying wire produces a magnetic field around it, that is, electricity and magnetism are not separate concepts but related to each other.

Note: The direction of deflection of the compass needle can be determined by Ampere’s swimming rule. This rule states that if we swim in the direction of the current such that our face faces the face of the compass, then the direction, in which our outstretched left hand will point perpendicular to our body and parallel to the plane of the compass, will be the direction in which the deflection of the compass needle will happen.