Paper 2, Section II, B
Part IB, 2012
A straight wire has mobile, charged particles per unit length, each of charge . Assuming the charges all move with velocity along the wire, show that the current is .
Using the Lorentz force law, show that if such a current-carrying wire is placed in a uniform magnetic field of strength perpendicular to the wire, then the force on the wire, per unit length, is .
Consider two infinite parallel wires, with separation , carrying (in the same sense of direction) positive currents and , respectively. Find the force per unit length on each wire, determining both its magnitude and direction.