Solenoid

Solenoid

A solenoid is a long coil of wire closely wound in the form of helix as shown in Figure 3.43. When electric current is passed through the solenoid, the magnetic field is produced. The magnetic field of the solenoid is due to the superposition of magnetic fields of each turn of the solenoid. The direction of magnetic field due to solenoid is given by right hand palm-rule (mnemonic).

Inside the solenoid, the magnetic field is nearly uniform and parallel to its axis whereas, outside the solenoid the field is negligibly small. Based on the direction of the current, one end of the solenoid behaves like North Pole and the other end behaves like South Pole.

The current carrying solenoid is held in right hand. If the fingers curl in the direction of current, then extended thumb gives the direction of magnetic field of current carrying solenoid. It is shown in Figure 3.44. Hence, the magnetic field of a solenoid looks like the magnetic field of a bar magnet.

The solenoid is assumed to be long which means that the length of the solenoid is large when compared to its diameter. The winding need not to be always circular, it can also be in other shapes. We consider here only circularly wound solenoid as shown in Figure 3.45.