The circuit shown in Figure 18.107 consists of a single battery, whose emf is 1.8V, and three wires made of the same material but having different cross-sectional areas. Each thick wire has a cross-sectional area 1.4×10-6m2and is 25cmlong. The thin wire has a cross-sectional area 5.9×10-6m2and is 6.1cmlong. In this metal, the electron mobility is 5×10-4(ms)(Vm), and there are 4×1028mobile electrons/m3.

(a) Which of the following statements about the circuit in the steady state are true? (1) At location B, the electric field points toward the top of the page. (2) The magnitude of the electric field at locations F and C is the same. (3) The magnitude of the electric field at locations D and F is the same. (4) The electron current at location D is the same as the electron current at location F . (b) Write a correct energy conservation (loop) equation for this circuit, following a path that starts at the negative end of the battery and goes counterclockwise. (c) Write this circuit's correct charge conservation (node) equation. (d) Use the appropriate equation(s), plus the equation relating electron current to electric field, to solve for the magnitudes EDand EF of the electric field at locations D and F . (e) Use the appropriate equation(s) to calculate the electron current at location D in the steady state.

Short Answer

Expert verified

Statements (1), (2), and (4) are true about the circuit in the steady state condition.

Step by step solution

01

Write the given data from the question.

Emf of battery, V=1.8V

Cross sectional area of thick wire,A1=1.4×10-6m2

Length of thick wire,L1=25cm

Cross sectional area of thin wire,A2=5.9×10-6m2

Length of thin wire,L2=6.1cm

Electron mobility, μ=5×10-4ms/Vm

Electron density,n=4×1028e/m3

02

Determine the formulas to find the correct statement in the steady state of the circuit.

The electric field is defined as the ratio of the voltage and length of the wire.

The expression to calculate the magnitude of the electric field is given as follows.


E=VL

Here, Vis the voltage and Lis the length of the wire.

03

Find the correct statement in the steady state about the circuit.

The direction of the electric field is away from the battery's positive terminal and toward the negative terminal. Therefore, the electric field moves from the positive terminal to the battery's negative terminal. So, the direction of the electric field at the location is toward the top of the page.

The electric field depends on the voltage and length of the wire. Because at locations F and C, the voltage and length of the wire are the same. But at the locations F and D length of both the wire are different. Therefore, the magnitude of the electric field is the same at locations F and C but different at locations F and D.

At the steady state condition of the circuit, the electron current at all the locations is the same.

Hence the statement (1), (2), and (4) are true about the circuit in the steady state condition.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

The drift speed in a copper wire is 7×10-5msfor a typical electron current. Calculate the magnitude of the electric field inside the copper wire. The mobility of mobile electrons in copper is 4.5×10-3ms/NC. (Note that though the electric field in the wire is very small, it is adequate to push a sizable electron current through the copper wire.)

Suppose that a wire leads into another, thinner wire of the same material that has only half the cross-sectional area. In the steady state, the number of electrons per second flowing through the thick wire must be equal to the number of electrons per second flowing through the thin wire. If the electric field \({E_1}\) in the thick wire is \(1 \times 1{0^{ - 2}}\;N/C\), what is the electric field \({E_2}\) in the thinner wire?

State your own theoretical and experimental objections to the following statement: In a circuit with two thick-filament bulbs in series, the bulb farther from the negative terminal of the battery will be dimmer, because some of the electron current is used up in the first bulb. Cite relevant experiments.

In the few nanoseconds before the steady state is established in a circuit consisting of a battery, copper wires, and a single bulb, is the current the same everywhere in the circuit? Explain.

A Nichrome wire 30 cm long and 0.25 mm in diameter is connected to a 1.5 V flashlight battery. What is the electric field inside the wire? Why you don’t have to know how the wire is bent? How would your answer change if the wire diameter change were 0.35 mm? (Not that the electric field in the wire is quiet small compared to the electric field near a charged tape.)

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