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JEE Advanced 2022 Paper 2 · Physics · Magnetic Effects of Current · medium

A wire carrying current I forms a closed loop made of two circular arcs, each subtending an angle of 120^° at the common centre O, of radii R and 3R…

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A wire carrying current II forms a closed loop made of two circular arcs, each subtending an angle of 120∘120^\circ at the common centre OO, of radii RR and 3R3R, joined by two straight radial segments along lines through OO. The current flows clockwise in the outer arc and anticlockwise in the inner arc (as seen from one side of the plane of the loop). The magnitude of the magnetic field at OO is
  1. A. μ0I18R\dfrac{\mu_0I}{18R}
  2. B. μ0I9R\dfrac{\mu_0I}{9R}
  3. C. μ0I6R\dfrac{\mu_0I}{6R}
  4. D. 2μ0I9R\dfrac{2\mu_0I}{9R}
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Answer: (B) μ0I9R\dfrac{\mu_0I}{9R}

Radial segments pass through OO, so dl⃗×r^=0d\vec l\times\hat r=0 and they contribute nothing. For a circular arc of radius aa subtending θ\theta at its centre, the field at the centre is B=μ0I4πθaB=\dfrac{\mu_0I}{4\pi}\dfrac{\theta}{a} (from B=∫μ04πI a dϕa2B=\int\dfrac{\mu_0}{4\pi}\dfrac{I\,a\,d\phi}{a^2}). Here θ=2π3\theta=\dfrac{2\pi}{3}, so μ0Iθ4π=μ0I6\dfrac{\mu_0I\theta}{4\pi}=\dfrac{\mu_0I}{6}. The inner arc gives μ0I6R\dfrac{\mu_0I}{6R} and the outer arc gives μ0I18R\dfrac{\mu_0I}{18R}. Their senses of circulation are opposite (inner anticlockwise, outer clockwise), so the fields at OO are antiparallel and the net field is μ0I6R−μ0I18R=μ0I9R\dfrac{\mu_0I}{6R}-\dfrac{\mu_0I}{18R}=\dfrac{\mu_0I}{9R}. Adding the magnitudes would give 2μ0I9R\dfrac{2\mu_0I}{9R}, and using only one arc gives μ0I6R\dfrac{\mu_0I}{6R} or μ0I18R\dfrac{\mu_0I}{18R}.
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