(a) With the help of a labelled diagram, explain the principle and working of a moving coil galvanometer. (b) Two parallel coaxial circular coils of equal radius R and equal number of turns N carry equal currents I in the same direction and are separated by a distance 2R. Find the magnitude and direction of the net magnetic field produced at the mid-point of the line joining their centres.
Solution
(a) \textbf{Principle:} a current-carrying coil in a magnetic field experiences a torque. The coil, wound on a soft-iron core and hung in the radial field of a horseshoe magnet, feels a deflecting torque τ=NIAB; the suspension provides a restoring torque kϕ. At balance NIAB=kϕ, so ϕ=kNABI∝I — a linear current scale. (b) Each coil is at axial distance R from the midpoint, so each produces