The strip in the diagram is used as a Hall probe to measure magnetic fields. (a) What happens if the strip is not perpendicular to the field? Does the Hall probe still read the correct field strength? Explain. (b) What happens if the ficld is in the plane of the strip?

The Hall probe functions through the Hall effect, where a voltage difference (Hall voltage) is generated across a conductor strip under the influence of a magnetic field. To measure the magnetic field accurately, the magnetic field should be perpendicular to the direction of the current in the strip. If the strip is not perpendicular to the magnetic field, the measured Hall voltage will not provide an accurate reading of the magnetic field strength. This is because only the perpendicular component of the magnetic field to the strip will contribute to the Hall effect and result in a Hall voltage, while the parallel component will not have any influence. Therefore, in such a scenario, the Hall probe will not read the correct field strength.

When the magnetic field is in the plane of the strip, it means that the magnetic field is parallel to the direction of the current in the strip. As previously mentioned, the magnetic field should ideally be perpendicular to the current to generate a Hall voltage which helps in accurately measuring the magnetic field. However, in this case, since the magnetic field is parallel to the current, there will be no Hall effect and no voltage difference generated across the strip. As a result, the Hall probe will not be able to measure the magnetic field in this configuration.