Deflection Magnetometer

The Deflection Magnetometer (Model: EDU305) is used for measuring the Earth's magnetic field, and for determining the magnetization of a magnetic material — its strength and the direction of the magnetic field at a point in space. It is part of Eduscope India's Physics Lab Equipment range, used in physics laboratories to compare the strength of magnetic fields and study the behaviour of a bar magnet placed near a compass needle.

Construction

The Deflection Magnetometer has a compass box fitted on a polished non-warping wooden base, chosen to keep the base from warping or twisting over time, which would otherwise throw off the alignment of the scale and the accuracy of readings taken along it. A meter scale runs alongside the length of the base, allowing the distance of a bar magnet from the compass needle to be read off directly during an experiment. The compass box itself is removable, so it can be lifted off the base and used on its own, or repositioned along the scale as the experimental setup requires.

How It Works

The Deflection Magnetometer works on the principle of the tangent law of magnetism. With no magnet nearby, the compass needle inside the compass box settles along the north-south direction, aligned with the horizontal component of the Earth's magnetic field. When a bar magnet is placed along the graduated scale, at right angles to this north-south line, its own magnetic field acts on the needle and turns it away from north through a deflection angle. The needle comes to rest at the point where the magnet's field at that position and the Earth's horizontal field component balance each other at right angles, and under this condition, the tangent of the deflection angle equals the ratio of the magnet's field strength at that point to the Earth's horizontal field component. By reading the deflection angle at a known distance along the scale, and using the Earth's horizontal field component as a known reference, the field strength or magnetic moment of the bar magnet can be worked out, or two magnets can be compared directly against each other by observing which produces the larger deflection at the same distance.

Related Instruments

Alongside the Deflection Magnetometer, the Multimeter, Digital is useful for the electrical measurements — voltage, current and resistance — that often accompany electromagnetism experiments, while the Gold Leaf Electroscope supports related work in detecting and comparing electric charge. Together with the Deflection Magnetometer, these instruments give a well-rounded set for electricity and magnetism topics in the physics laboratory.

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