In electromagnetism, a magnetic circuit is an analogy to an electrical circuit used to describe the behavior of magnetic fields in materials. Just like an electrical circuit has components like resistors, capacitors, and inductors, a magnetic circuit has elements like magnetic materials and sources of magnetism.
One of the fundamental principles in electromagnetism is Ampere's Law, which relates the magnetic field (B) around a closed loop to the current passing through that loop:
∮
⋅
=
0
⋅
enc
∮B⋅dl=μ
0
⋅I
enc
Where:
∮
⋅
∮B⋅dl is the integral of the magnetic field around a closed path.
enc
I
enc
is the total current passing through the enclosed area.
0
μ
0
is the permeability of free space (a constant).
In the case of a thin straight line of current of infinite length, the magnetic field intensity (
H) at a point perpendicular to the current can be calculated using Ampere's Law. The equation for the magnetic field intensity at a distance
r from the current-carrying wire is given by:
=
2
H=
2πr
I
Where:
H is the magnetic field intensity in Amperes per meter (A/m).
I is the current in Amperes (A).
r is the distance from the current-carrying wire in meters (m).
2
2π is a constant related to the geometry (circumference of a circle).
This formula indicates that the magnetic field intensity
H decreases with distance from the wire. The field strength decreases inversely with the distance from the current-carrying wire, following a pattern similar to the inverse-square law.
It's important to note that the magnetic field intensity
H and the magnetic flux density
B are related in materials by the equation
=
⋅
B=μ⋅H, where
μ is the material's permeability. In free space (
=
0
μ=μ
0
), this relationship simplifies to
=
0
⋅
B=μ
0
⋅H.
Keep in mind that this formula assumes an idealized scenario of a current-carrying wire with negligible dimensions and an infinite length. In practical cases with finite wires, the shape of the wire and its proximity to other objects can complicate the calculation of the magnetic field.