Experiment No 6

Electromagnetic Induction
Purpose

(a) To find the induced EMF as a function of velocity of the magnet passing through a coil.

(b) To find the charge delivered to a capacitor because of electromagnetic induction.

Apparatus

A bar magnet mounted on a D-shaped aluminum arc of radius 40 cm, Movable weights,
Supporting frame, Measurement board consisting of capacitors, resistors, diode, voltmeter,
ammeter and a switch, Two coils of copper wire of about 10000 turns, Connecting leads.

Theory

The EMF E that is induced in a coil when a magnet passes through it is given by Faraday’s law

d
E 
dt

where  is the flux through the coil.

Movable weight

Support
Movable weight

S Metallic arc
N
Bar magnet Coil

Fig. 1 Experimental arrangement

 

Fig. 2(a)
t

τ
t Fig. 2(b)
-Eo

As the bar magnet passes through the coils, the flux  through the coils changes with time as
shown in Fig. 2(a). The EMF that is induced in the coils is shown in the form of two pulses in
Fig. 2(b). The pulse width τ is the time interval during which the flux through the coil changes
during a swing. The EMF induced in the coil is a maximum when d / dt is maximum. We
have

d d d d
E    ( )
dt d dt d

where  ( ) is the angular velocity of the arc. At the equilibrium point θ = 0 and

 (0)   max

But at the equilibrium point d / d  0 , and hence E at equilibrium point is zero. The
maximum EMF Eo occurs at an angle  max which is slightly away from equilibrium position.
Thus

 d  1  d 
Eo    max     vmax
 d  max R o  d  max

where Ro is the radius of the arc and vmax is the maximum linear velocity of a point on the semi
circular arc. Thus approximately
Eo  vmax

The constant of proportionality in above equation depends on the geometry of the apparatus, and
is independent of the angle  o at which arc is released from rest.

Calculation of vmax

M: Mass of arc along with moveable weights and bar magnet.

I: Moment of inertia of the rotating system about the axis of rotation.

L: Distance of center of mass of rotating system from point of suspension.

Using conservation of energy we get

1 2  
I max  MgL1  cos o   2MgL sin 2  o 
2  2

Hence

MgL   o 
 max  2 sin  
I  2

The quantity MgL / I is the natural frequency of small oscillations of the system. If T is the
time period of these oscillations then

I
T  2
MgL

Therefore

4Ro   o 
vmax  sin  
T  2

This equation can be used to determine vmax for various values of  o .

Determination of Eo

/\/\/\/\
R D o o
Switch

+ +
C
_ V
_
Coil
 _
+
mA
Fig. 3 Circuit Diagram

In order to determine Eo, a capacitor C is connected in series with the coil along with a resistor R
and a diode D as shown in Fig. 3. The diode allows the capacitor to charge only during one pulse
in each swing. If the time constant RC is small as compared with pulse width τ then the capacitor
gets fully charged in one swing. The pulse width τ can be estimated by dividing the length of the
bar magnet by vmax . If RC > τ, the capacitor gets fully charged after several swings. When the
capacitor is fully charged, the kicks in the ammeter stop. At this stage the switch S is closed and
the voltage Eo developed across the capacitor is measured using the voltmeter V.

Procedure

Part I (Measurement of Time Period)

1. Place the magnet on the metallic arc and adjust the moveable weights on it so that the
equilibrium position of the arc is at θo = 0.

2. Make sure that arc does not touch the walls of the coils during oscillations.

3. Displace the arc by a small angle (around 10 o) and measure the time for 5 oscillations.
Thus determine the time period T.

4. Repeat Step 3 for two more values of displacement angle θ o and hence find the average
value of T.

Part II (Measurement of Eo)

1. Connect the circuit as shown in Fig. 3 by taking C = 100μF and R = 100 Ω. The two coils
should be connected in series.

2. By keeping the switch in off position, release the arc from θ o = 35o. As current flows in
the circuit, ammeter registers kicks. The kicks stop when capacitor is fully charged.

3. After the capacitor is fully charged, flip the switch to ON position and measure the
maximum voltage recorded by voltmeter. This is Eo.

4. Repeat Step 3 for θo = 30o, 25o, 20o, 15o, and 10o.

5. Calculate vmax for each value of θo and plot a graph vmax versus Eo .
Part III (Measurement of charge delivered to capacitor)

1. Choose R = 1kΩ in circuit of Fig. 3. This may make the time constant RC larger than
pulse width τ.

2. Release the arc with a release angle θ o = 30o and measure the voltage Vn across the
capacitor after n oscillations. Choose n = 1, 2, -----, 6 successively. As soon as n
oscillations are over, care should be taken to prevent further oscillations by stopping the
arc by hand. Make sure that capacitor is completely discharged before starting a new
measurement.

3. Find the charge qn deposited on the capacitor after n swings using the relation
q n  CVn and plot qn versus n.

4. Repeat the above procedure for one more value of R. Show the plot qn versus n for both
the values of R on the same graph sheet.

Precautions

(a) The metallic arc should not touch the walls of the coils during its oscillations.

(b) When the arc is at its equilibrium position, the pointer should point at zero. This can be
achieved by adjusting the position of moveable weights on the arc.

(c) The amplitude of oscillations should be kept small while measuring the time period T of
oscillations.

(d) Capacitor should be fully discharged before starting fresh measurements.

(e) In Part III, care should be taken to manually stop the arc after desired number of swings.

Observations

Part I (Measurement of time period)

S. No. Release angle Number of Total time (sec) Time Period

 o (degrees) oscillations (sec)

1.

2.

3.
Average value of time period = _________ sec.

Part II (Measurement of Eo )

Radius of the arc Ro = 40 cm

C = 100 μF

S.No. Release angle 4Ro   o  (m/s)

Eo (volt)
vmax  sin  
T  2
 o (degrees)

1. 35

2. 30

3. 25

4. 20

5. 15

6. 10

Part III (Measurement of charge delivered to capacitor)

C = 100 μF

Release angle  o  30 o

S. Number Resistance = _____ kΩ Resistance =_____ kΩ

No. of swings
Voltage
Voltage across
n
across Charge on
Charge on capacitor
capacitor
capacitor
capacitor
qnn=CV
= CV
n n
V
Vnn(Volt)
(Volt)
 1. 1

2. 2

3. 3

4. 4

5. 5

6. 6

Results

(a) The graph Eo versus vmax is approximately a straight line. This verifies the Faraday’s
law of electromagnetic induction.

(b) The curves qn versus n for both the values of R resemble the charging curves of a
capacitor.