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A Variant of Maxwell's Experiment on the Movement of Magnets about a Straight Conductor

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Abstract

THE experiment described by Maxwell1 in which magnets are placed on a tray free to rotate about a long straight wire carrying a heavy current is well known. The present variant of this experiment is intented for demonstration purposes, and provides for (a) a proof that the forces acting on the magnets are amply large enough to cause a violent movement of the tray if the resulting moment was not in fact zero ; (b) the use of current-carrying coils as well as magnets.

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References

  1. See "Electricity and Magnetism", vol. 2, Art. 477.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical Engineering Department, Imperial College, (City and Guilds College), London, S.W.7.

    H. E. PARK

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  1. H. E. PARK
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PARK, H. A Variant of Maxwell's Experiment on the Movement of Magnets about a Straight Conductor. Nature 151, 697–698 (1943). https://doi.org/10.1038/151697a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/151697a0

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