TANGENT
GALVANOMETER
PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
SUBMITTED BY: PHYSICS
Project
Arjun Kumar (2017-18)
Class :- XII - A
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CBSE Roll. No.:-
Reg. No.:-P218/09501/0093
BAL VIDYA NIKETAN
(Senior Secondary School)
ADDRESS : Patel Nagar, Raja Bazar, Jehanabad – 804408
CONTACT NUMBER : 06114- 290123, 08521307993, 9431226080
E -MAIL ID : info@[Link]@[Link]
[Link]@[Link]
Total Pages :- 19
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TANGENT GALVANOMETER
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BAL VIDYA NIKETAN
(Senior Secondary School)
Patel Nagar, Raja Bazar, Jehanabad – 804408
This is to certify that this “Physics Investigatory
Project” on the topic “Tangent Galvanometer” has
been successfully completed by Arjun Kumar of
class XII – A under the guidance of Mr. M. Shyam
Sunder in particular fulfilment of the curriculum of
Central Board of Secondary Education {CBSE}
leading to the award of annual examination of the
year 2017-18.
Examiners:
1. ………………… Master in Charge
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2. ………………… Head of Institution
PAGE
[Link]. CONTENT NO.
1 Certificate 2
2 Acknowledgement 4
3 Aim/Objective 5
4 Introduction 6
About The Topic-
5 Tangent galvanometer 10
6 Experiment 14
7 Observation Table 16
8 Result 17
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9 Conclusion 17
10 Bibliography 17
11 End of Project 18
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I have taken efforts in this project. However, it
would not have been possible without the kind
support and help of many individuals.
I would like to thank my principal Dr. NSK
Swamy and school for providing me with facilities
required to do my project. I am highly indebted to my
Physics teacher, Mr. M. Shyam Sunder, for his
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invaluable guidance which has sustained my efforts in all
the stages of this project work.
I would also like to thank my parents for their
continuous support and encouragement. My
thanks and appreciations also go to my fellow
classmates and the laboratory assistant in
developing the project and to the people who
have willingly helped me out with their abilities.
OBJECTIVE
To study the earth’s magnetic
field using a tangent galvanometer.
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To find out the horizontal
component of earth’s magnetic
field (Bh).
INTRODUCTION
Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the
magnetic field that extends from the Earth's interior to where it meets the
solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun. Its
magnitude at the Earth's surface ranges from 25 to 65 microteslas (0.25 to
0.65 gauss).Roughly speaking it is the field of a magnetic dipole currently
tilted at an angle of about 10 degrees with respect to Earth's rotational axis,
as if there were a bar magnet placed at that angle at the center of the Earth.
Unlike a bar magnet, however, Earth's magnetic field changes over time
because it is generated by a geodynamic (in Earth's case, the motion of
molten iron alloys in its outer core).
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The North and South magnetic poles wander widely, but sufficiently
slowly for ordinary compasses to remain useful for navigation. However,
at irregular intervals averaging several hundred thousand years, the Earth's
field reverses and the North and South Magnetic Poles relatively abruptly
switch places. These reversals of the geomagnetic poles leave a record in
rocks that are of value to paleomagnetists in calculating geomagnetic
fields in the past. Such information in turn is helpful in studying the
motions of continents and ocean floors in the process of plate tectonics.
The magnetosphere is the region above the ionosphere and extends several
tens of thousands of kilometers into space, protecting the Earth from the
charged particles of the solar wind and cosmic rays that would otherwise
strip away the upper atmosphere, including
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the ozone layer that protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Earth's magnetic field serves to deflect most of the solar wind, whose
charged particles would otherwise strip away the ozone layer that protects
the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. One stripping mechanism is
for gas to be caught in bubbles of magnetic field, which are ripped off by
solar winds.
The intensity of the field is often measured in gauss (G), but is generally
reported innanoteslas (nT), with 1 G = 100,000 nT. A nanotesla is also
referred to as a gamma (γ).The tesla is the SI unit of the Magnetic field, B.
The field ranges between approximately 25,000 and 65,000 nT (0.25–0.65
G).
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Near the surface of the Earth, its magnetic field can be closely
approximated by the field of a magnetic dipole positioned at the center of
the Earth and tilted at an angle of about 10° with respect to the rotational
axis of the Earth. The dipole is roughly equivalent to a powerful bar
magnet, with its South Pole pointing towards the geomagnetic North Pole.
The north pole of a magnet is so defined because, if allowed to rotate
freely, it points roughly northward (in the geographic sense). Since the
north pole of a magnet attracts the south poles of other magnets and repels
the north poles, it must be attracted to the south pole
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ABOUT THE TOPIC Tangent
Galvanometer
A tangent galvanometer is an early measuring instrument used for the
measurement of electric current. It works by using a compass needle to
compare a magnetic field generated by the unknown current to the
magnetic field of the Earth. It gets its name from its operating principle,
the tangent law of magnetism, which states that the tangent of the angle a
compass needle makes is proportional to the ratio of the strengths of the
two perpendicular magnetic fields. It was first described by Claude
Pouillet in 1837.
A tangent galvanometer consists of a coil of insulated copper wire wound
on a circular non-magnetic frame. The frame is mounted vertically on a
horizontal base provided with leveling screws. The coil can be rotated on a
vertical axis passing through its centre. A compass box is mounted
horizontally at the centre of a circular scale. It consists of a tiny, powerful
magnetic needle pivoted at the centre of the coil. The magnetic needle is
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free to rotate in the horizontal plane. The circular scale is divided into four
quadrants. Each quadrant is graduated from 0° to 90°. A long thin
aluminium pointer is attached to the needle at its centre and at right angle
to it. To avoid errors due to parallax, a plane mirror is mounted below the
compass needle.
In operation, the instrument is first rotated until the magnetic field of the
Earth, indicated by the compass needle, is parallel with the plane of the
coil. Then the unknown current is applied to the coil. This creates a second
magnetic field on the axis of the coil, perpendicular to the Earth's magnetic
field. The compass needle responds to the vector sum of the two fields,
and deflects to an angle equal to the tangent of the ratio of the two fields.
From the angle read from the compass's scale, the current could be found
from a table.[2] The current supply wires have to be wound in a small helix,
like a pig's tail, otherwise the field due to the wire will affect the compass
needle and an incorrect reading will be obtained.
A tangent galvanometer can also be used to measure the magnitude of the
horizontal component of the geomagnetic field. When used in this way, a
low-voltage power source, such as a battery, is connected in series with a
rheostat, the galvanometer, and ammeter. The galvanometer is first aligned
so that the coil is parallel to the geomagnetic field, whose direction is
indicated by the compass when there is no current through the coils. The
battery is then connected and the rheostat is adjusted until the compass
needle deflects 45 degrees from the geomagnetic field, indicating that the
magnitude of the magnetic field at the center of the coil is the same as that
of the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field. This field strength
can be calculated from the current as measured by the ammeter, the
number of turns of the coil, and the radius of the coils.
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CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
When a bar magnet is suspended in two magnetic fields B and Bh, it comes
to rest making an angle θ with the direction of Bh.
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From Figure B = Bh tanθ. This is known as tangent law of magnetism.
If θ is the deflection of the needle, then according to tangent law,
B = Bh tanθ (1)
Let I be the current passing through the coil of radius a with n turns, then the
magnetic field generated by the current carrying coil is,
B = µ0nI/2a (2) (a is the radius of the coil)
Equating (1) and (2), we get,
Bh tanθ = µ0nI/2a (3)
2aBh/µ0n = I/tanθ (4)
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The left hand side of equation (4) is a constant and is called the reduction factor K
of the given Tangent Galvanometer.
K = I/tanθ (5)
Now from the equation (3) & (5), the horizontal intensity of Earth’s magnetic field
Bh is,
Bh = µ0nK/2a (6)
APPLICATIONS
Tangent Galvanometer can be used to measure the magnitude of the horizontal
component of the geomagnetic field.
The principle can be used to compare the galvanometer constants.
EXPERIMENT
Aim
To determine the reduction factor of a tangent galvanometer.
To find the horizontal intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field
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Apparatus
Accumulator, Rheostat, Ammeter, Commutator, Tangent
Galvanometer
Principle&Formulae
The reduction factor of T.G is K=I/tanθ, where I is the current
flowing through the T.G which produces the deflection θ.
The horizontal intensity of Earth’s magnetic field at a place. Bh
= µ0nK/2r, where n is the number of turns of the coil, µ0 = 4π×10-7
NA-2 is the permeability of free space, K is the reduction factor of the
T.G and r is the radius of the coil of the T.G.
Procedure
The circuit is made as shown in the diagram. The plane
of the coil is made vertical by adjusting the leveling screws. The plane of
the coil is made by adjusting the leveling screws. The plane of the coil is
made parallel to (90-90) in the compass box. The whole T.G is rotated to
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read (0-0) at the ends of the aluminum pointer. Now the plane of the coil is
in the magnetic meridian.
The Commutator keys are put. The rheostat should be
adjusted for deflection in T.G between 10 and 60. For a current I, the
deflections of the pointer θ1 & θ2 are noted. The Commutator is reversed.
The deflections of the pointer θ3 & θ4 are noted. The average of the four
readings is the deflection θ. From the theory of the T.G, I=K tanθ.
By varying the current the experiment is repeated. Using a
string the circumference of the coil is measured. Hence its radius r is
found. Let n be the number of turns of the coil. The horizontal intensity at
the place is given by, Bh = µ0nK/2r
OBSERVATION TABLE
Deflection in T.G Ammeter
[Link] Reading θ1 θ2 θ3 θ4 Mean K=I/tanθ
(A)
1 0.15 35 35 35 35 35 0.2142
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2 0.20 49 47 60 64 53.6 0.1474
3 0.25 36 36 55 58 46.25 0.2389
4 0.30 50 50 65 68 58.2 0.1860
5 0.27 45 45 64 65 53.8 0.1976
Mean K = 0.19682
• The reduction factor of TH = 0.19682
• Number of turns of the coil = 50
• Circumference of the coil (S) = 2πr = 50.49 cm
• Radius of the coil r = S/2π = 8.04 cm = 8.04×10-2 cm Horizontal
Intensity at the place Bh = µ0nK/2r
= 2πnK×10-7/r
= 7.6867×10-8 T
For different values of current I, deflections are noted and values are
calculated. Knowing K, n and r the value of horizontal intensity Bh can be
calculated.
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Result
1. The reduction factor of T.G, K = 0.19682 A
2. Horizontal Intensity at the place, Bh = 7.6867×10-5 T
CONCLUSION
Experiment in tangent galvanometer gives the reduction factor of
galvanometer and horizontal intensity of Earth’s magnetic field.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Illustrative Oxford Book
Wikipedia
NCERT Practical’s
Introduction to Physical Science
End of
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Project
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Thank
you!
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