A huge superconducting wire with a square cross-section carries a constant DC current of one million ( ) amps. The wire is infinitely long, and its cross-section has a side length of .
What is the magnitude of the magnetic flux density ( ) at the point (in milli-Teslas)?
Details and Assumptions:
Bonus: The assumption of uniform current density, while convenient, is dubious in light of actual superconductor physics. See the Meissner Effect for a primer on superconductor fundamentals. Thanks to Laszlo Mihaly for pointing this out.
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Consider a very thin infinite long wire carries a current I placed along z-axis (into the page). The magnetic field at r 0 = ( x 0 , y 0 ) is given by B = 2 π r 0 2 μ 0 I ( − k ^ × r 0 ) .
Now, let consider the small partition of the wire with area d A = d x d y placed at r = ( x , y ) . Since the current density is uniform along the cross section, then the partition carries current d I = A I d A = I d x d y . Using the result above, the magnetic field of the partition at r 0 = ( x 0 , y 0 ) is given by d B = = 2 π ∣ r 0 − r ∣ 2 μ 0 d I [ − k ^ × ( r 0 − r ) ] 2 π μ 0 I ( y 0 − y ) 2 + ( x 0 − x ) 2 ( y 0 − y ) i − ( x 0 − x ) j d x d y .
With x 0 = 2 m and y 0 = 2 m , the x-component of magnetic field, B x = 2 π μ 0 I ∫ 0 1 ∫ 0 1 ( y 0 − y ) 2 + ( x 0 − x ) 2 ( y 0 − y ) d x d y = 6 6 . 8 m T , and the y-component of magnetic field B y = − 2 π μ 0 I ∫ 0 1 ∫ 0 1 ( y 0 − y ) 2 + ( x 0 − x ) 2 ( x 0 − x ) d x d y = − 6 6 . 8 m T .
Thus, the magnitude of magnetic field at r 0 = ( x 0 , y 0 ) = ( 2 , 2 ) m is B = B x 2 + B y 2 = 9 4 . 3 7 m T .