English

Variations on the magnetic torque acting on a wire

Classical Physics 2012-05-28 v2

Abstract

The relation M = mu x B is presented in all elementary courses on electromagnetism but it is usually given just for the simple case of a rectangular wire. We will present a completely general but elementary proof of this relation together with two more advanced proof methods. We will then provide some extensions: non-closed wires and non-uniform magnetic field.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1205.1035,
  title  = {Variations on the magnetic torque acting on a wire},
  author = {Claudio Bonati},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1205.1035},
  year   = {2012}
}

Comments

11 pages, 1 eps figure. In the published version the title was changed in "Variations in the magnetic torque acting on a wire"

R2 v1 2026-06-21T20:58:51.322Z