PHYSICS

INVESTIGATOR
Y PROJECT
(ACADEMIC SESSION: 2016-17)

TO STUDY THE
EARTHS
MAGNETIC FIELD
USING
A
TANGENT
GALVANOMETER

PREPARED BY-

DIPANGSHUMAN
CHOUDHURY
CLASS: XII C
ROLL: 08
BOARD ROLL NO.:6635319

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OFDepartment of Physics,

KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA
BALLYGUNGE
KOLKATA REGION

DECLARATION
I Dipangshuman Choudhury, hereby
declare that the project work entitle to
study the earths magnetic field using a
tangent galvanometer, submitted to
Department
of
Physics,
Kendriya
Vidyalaya
Ballygunge,
Kolkata,
is
successfully completed and prepared by
me. All the experiments are genuinely
and honestly performed and the results
provided are on the basis of my own
investigations and efforts under certain
guidance.

Signature of student

(Dipangshuman Choudhury)

ACKNOWLEDGEM
ENT
I would like to express a deep sense of
thanks and gratitude to the physics staff
of my school for guiding me immensely
through the course of the project. They
always evinced keen interest in my work.
Their constructive advice and constant
motivation have been responsible for the
successful completion of this project.

My sincere thanks goes to Dr Suman

Lata, our honorable principal madam, for
her co-ordination in extending every

possible support for the completion of

this project .
I also thank my parents and classmates
for their motivation, help and support.

CERTIFICATE
It is hereby to certify that the original
and genuine investigation has been
carried out to investigate about the
subject matter and the related data
collection and investigation has been
conducted
solely,
sincerely
and
satisfactorily
by
DIPANGSHUMAN
CHOUDHURY of class XII C of Kendriya

Vidyalaya Ballygunge regarding the

project entitled To study the earths
magnetic
field
using
a
tangent
galvanometer. The report is the result
of his efforts and endeavors and it is
found worthy of acceptance as final
project
report
for
the
practical
examination in physics, AISSCE 2017
conducted by CBSE.

(Dr. SUMAN LATA)

Principal

CERTIFICATE
FROM EXAMINER
The project entitled TO STUDY THE
EARTHS MAGNETIC FIELD USING A
TANGENT GALVANOMETER, submitted
by DIPANGSHUMAN CHOUDHURY of class
XII-C for the CBSE 10+2 AISSCE
Examination
2017,
of
Physics
at
Kendriya Vidyalaya Ballygunge, Kolkata
has been examined.

(Signature of Examiner)

CONTENTS
SL.NO

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

ABOUT THE TOPIC- TANGENT

GALVANOMETER

EXPERIMENT

4
5

OBSERVATION TABLE
CALCULATION

RESULT

10

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

11

INTRODUCTION
EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD, ALSO KNOWN AS
THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD, IS THE MAGNETIC
FIELD THAT EXTENDS FROM THE EARTH'S
INTERIOR TO WHERE IT MEETS THE SOLAR
WIND, A STREAM OF CHARGED PARTICLES
EMANATING FROM THE SUN. ITS MAGNITUDE
AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE RANGES FROM 25
TO
65
MICROTESLAS
(0.25
TO
0.65
GAUSS).ROUGHLY SPEAKING IT IS THE FIELD
OF A MAGNETIC DIPOLE CURRENTLY TILTED AT
AN ANGLE OF ABOUT 10 DEGREES WITH
RESPECT TO EARTH'S ROTATIONAL AXIS, AS IF
THERE WERE A BAR MAGNET PLACED AT THAT
ANGLE AT THE CENTER OF THE EARTH.
UNLIKE A BAR MAGNET, HOWEVER, EARTH'S
MAGNETIC FIELD CHANGES OVER TIME
BECAUSE IT IS GENERATED BY A GEODYNAMIC
(IN EARTH'S CASE, THE MOTION OF MOLTEN
IRON ALLOYS IN ITS OUTER CORE).
THE NORTH AND SOUTH MAGNETIC POLES
WANDER WIDELY, BUT SUFFICIENTLY SLOWLY
FOR ORDINARY COMPASSES TO REMAIN
USEFUL FOR NAVIGATION. HOWEVER, AT

IRREGULAR INTERVALS AVERAGING SEVERAL

HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS, THE EARTH'S
FIELD REVERSES AND THE NORTH AND
SOUTH
MAGNETIC
POLES
RELATIVELY
ABRUPTLY
SWITCH
PLACES.
THESE
REVERSALS OF THE GEOMAGNETIC POLES
LEAVE A RECORD IN ROCKS THAT ARE OF
VALUE
TO
PALEOMAGNETISTS
IN
CALCULATING GEOMAGNETIC FIELDS IN THE
PAST. SUCH INFORMATION IN TURN IS
HELPFUL IN STUDYING THE MOTIONS OF
CONTINENTS AND OCEAN FLOORS IN THE
PROCESS OF PLATE TECTONICS.
THE MAGNETOSPHERE IS THE REGION ABOVE
THE IONOSPHERE AND EXTENDS SEVERAL
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF KILOMETERS INTO
SPACE, PROTECTING THE EARTH FROM THE
CHARGED PARTICLES OF THE SOLAR WIND
AND COSMIC RAYS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE
STRIP AWAY THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE,
INCLUDING
THE
OZONE
LAYER
THAT
PROTECTS THE EARTH FROM HARMFUL
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION.
EARTH'S
MAGNETIC
FIELD
SERVES
TO
DEFLECT MOST OF THE SOLAR WIND, WHOSE

CHARGED PARTICLES WOULD OTHERWISE

STRIP AWAY THE OZONE LAYER THAT
PROTECTS THE EARTH FROM HARMFUL
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION. ONE STRIPPING
MECHANISM IS FOR GAS TO BE CAUGHT IN
BUBBLES OF MAGNETIC FIELD, WHICH ARE
RIPPED OFF BY SOLAR WINDS.

THE
INTENSITY
OF THE
FIELD IS OFTEN MEASURED
IN
GAUSS
(G),
BUT
IS
GENERALLY
REPORTED
INNANOTESLAS (NT), WITH 1 G = 100,000 NT.
A NANOTESLA IS ALSO REFERRED TO AS A
GAMMA ().THE TESLA IS THE SI UNIT OF THE
MAGNETIC FIELD, B. THE FIELD RANGES
BETWEEN
APPROXIMATELY
25,000
AND
65,000 NT (0.250.65 G).

NEAR THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH, ITS

MAGNETIC
FIELD
CAN
BE
CLOSELY
APPROXIMATED BY THE FIELD OF A MAGNETIC
DIPOLE POSITIONED AT THE CENTER OF THE
EARTH AND TILTED AT AN ANGLE OF ABOUT
10 WITH RESPECT TO THE ROTATIONAL AXIS
OF THE EARTH. THE DIPOLE IS ROUGHLY
EQUIVALENT TO A POWERFUL BAR MAGNET,
WITH ITS SOUTH POLE POINTING TOWARDS
THE GEOMAGNETIC NORTH POLE. THE NORTH
POLE OF A MAGNET IS SO DEFINED BECAUSE,
IF ALLOWED TO ROTATE FREELY, IT POINTS
ROUGHLY NORTHWARD (IN THE GEOGRAPHIC
SENSE). SINCE THE NORTH POLE OF A
MAGNET ATTRACTS THE SOUTH POLES OF
OTHER MAGNETS AND REPELS THE NORTH
POLES, IT MUST BE ATTRACTED TO THE
SOUTH POLE

ABOUT THE
TOPIC
TANGENT
GALVANOMETER
A
TANGENT
GALVANOMETER
IS
AN
EARLY MEASURING INSTRUMENT USED FOR
THE MEASUREMENT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT. IT
WORKS BY USING A COMPASS NEEDLE TO
COMPARE A MAGNETIC FIELD GENERATED BY
THE UNKNOWN CURRENT TO THE MAGNETIC
FIELD OF THE EARTH. IT GETS ITS NAME
FROM
ITS
OPERATING
PRINCIPLE,
THE
TANGENT LAW OF MAGNETISM, WHICH
STATES THAT THE TANGENT OF THE ANGLE A
COMPASS NEEDLE MAKES IS PROPORTIONAL
TO THE RATIO OF THE STRENGTHS OF THE
TWO PERPENDICULAR MAGNETIC FIELDS. IT
WAS
FIRST
DESCRIBED
BY CLAUDE
POUILLET IN 1837.

A TANGENT GALVANOMETER CONSISTS OF A

COIL OF INSULATED COPPER WIRE WOUND
ON A CIRCULAR NON-MAGNETIC FRAME. THE
FRAME IS MOUNTED VERTICALLY ON A
HORIZONTAL BASE PROVIDED WITH LEVELING
SCREWS. THE COIL CAN BE ROTATED ON A
VERTICAL AXIS PASSING THROUGH ITS
CENTRE. A COMPASS BOX IS MOUNTED
HORIZONTALLY AT THE CENTRE OF A
CIRCULAR SCALE. IT CONSISTS OF A TINY,
POWERFUL MAGNETIC NEEDLE PIVOTED AT
THE CENTRE OF THE COIL. THE MAGNETIC
NEEDLE IS FREE TO ROTATE IN THE
HORIZONTAL PLANE. THE CIRCULAR SCALE IS
DIVIDED INTO FOUR QUADRANTS. EACH
QUADRANT IS GRADUATED FROM 0 TO 90. A
LONG
THIN
ALUMINIUM
POINTER
IS
ATTACHED TO THE NEEDLE AT ITS CENTRE
AND AT RIGHT ANGLE TO IT. TO AVOID
ERRORS DUE TO PARALLAX, A PLANE MIRROR
IS MOUNTED BELOW THE COMPASS NEEDLE.
IN OPERATION, THE INSTRUMENT IS FIRST
ROTATED UNTIL THE MAGNETIC FIELD OF THE
EARTH, INDICATED BY THE COMPASS NEEDLE,
IS PARALLEL WITH THE PLANE OF THE COIL.

THEN THE UNKNOWN CURRENT IS APPLIED

TO THE COIL. THIS CREATES A SECOND
MAGNETIC FIELD ON THE AXIS OF THE COIL,
PERPENDICULAR TO THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC
FIELD. THE COMPASS NEEDLE RESPONDS TO
THE VECTOR SUM OF THE TWO FIELDS, AND
DEFLECTS TO AN ANGLE EQUAL TO THE
TANGENT OF THE RATIO OF THE TWO FIELDS.
FROM
THE
ANGLE
READ
FROM
THE
COMPASS'S SCALE, THE CURRENT COULD BE
FOUND FROM A TABLE.[2] THE CURRENT
SUPPLY WIRES HAVE TO BE WOUND IN A
SMALL HELIX, LIKE A PIG'S TAIL, OTHERWISE
THE FIELD DUE TO THE WIRE WILL AFFECT
THE COMPASS NEEDLE AND AN INCORRECT
READING WILL BE OBTAINED.
A TANGENT GALVANOMETER CAN ALSO BE
USED TO MEASURE THE MAGNITUDE OF THE
HORIZONTAL
COMPONENT
OF
THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD. WHEN USED IN
THIS WAY, A LOW-VOLTAGE POWER SOURCE,
SUCH AS A BATTERY, IS CONNECTED IN
SERIES
WITH
A RHEOSTAT,
THE
GALVANOMETER,
AND
AMMETER.
THE
GALVANOMETER IS FIRST ALIGNED SO THAT
THE COIL IS PARALLEL TO THE GEOMAGNETIC

FIELD, WHOSE DIRECTION IS INDICATED BY

THE COMPASS WHEN THERE IS NO CURRENT
THROUGH THE COILS. THE BATTERY IS THEN
CONNECTED AND THE RHEOSTAT IS ADJUSTED
UNTIL THE COMPASS NEEDLE DEFLECTS 45
DEGREES FROM THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD,
INDICATING THAT THE MAGNITUDE OF THE
MAGNETIC FIELD AT THE CENTER OF THE COIL
IS THE SAME AS THAT OF THE HORIZONTAL
COMPONENT OF THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD.
THIS FIELD STRENGTH CAN BE CALCULATED
FROM THE CURRENT AS MEASURED BY THE
AMMETER, THE NUMBER OF TURNS OF THE
COIL, AND THE RADIUS OF THE COILS.

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

WHEN A BAR MAGNET IS SUSPENDED IN TWO

MAGNETIC FIELDS B AND BH, IT COMES TO
REST MAKING AN ANGLE WITH THE
DIRECTION OF BH.

FROM FIGURE B = BH TAN. THIS IS KNOWN AS

TANGENT LAW OF MAGNETISM.
IF IS THE DEFLECTION OF THE NEEDLE, THEN
ACCORDING TO TANGENT LAW,
B = BH TAN

(1)

LET I BE THE CURRENT PASSING THROUGH THE

COIL OF RADIUS A WITH N TURNS, THEN THE
MAGNETIC FIELD GENERATED BY THE CURRENT
CARRYING COIL IS,

B = 0NI/2A
RADIUS OF THE COIL)

(2) (A IS THE

EQUATING (1) AND (2), WE GET,

BH TAN = 0NI/2A

(3)

2ABH/0N = I/TAN

(4)

THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF EQUATION (4) IS A

CONSTANT AND IS CALLED THE REDUCTION FACTOR
K OF THE GIVEN TANGENT GALVANOMETER.
K = I/TAN

(5)

NOW FROM THE EQUATION (3) & (5), THE

HORIZONTAL INTENSITY OF EARTHS MAGNETIC
FIELD BH IS,
BH = 0NK/2A

(6)

APPLICATIONS
TANGENT GALVANOMETER CAN BE USED TO
MEASURE
THE
MAGNITUDE
OF
THE
HORIZONTAL
COMPONENT
OF
THE
GEOMAGNETIC FIELD.
THE PRINCIPLE CAN BE USED TO COMPARE THE
GALVANOMETER CONSTANTS.

EXPERIMENT

AIM
TO DETERMINE THE REDUCTION FACTOR
OF A TANGENT GALVANOMETER.
TO FIND THE HORIZONTAL INTENSITY OF
THE EARTHS MAGNETIC FIELD

APPARATUS
ACCUMULATOR,
RHEOSTAT,
AMMETER,
COMMUTATOR, TANGENT GALVANOMETER

PRINCIPLE & FORMULAE

THE REDUCTION FACTOR OF T.G IS
K=I/TAN, WHERE I IS THE CURRENT
FLOWING THROUGH THE T.G WHICH
PRODUCES THE DEFLECTION .
THE HORIZONTAL INTENSITY OF EARTHS
MAGNETIC FIELD AT A PLACE. B H =
0NK/2R, WHERE N IS THE NUMBER OF
TURNS OF THE COIL, 0 = 410-7 NA-2 IS
THE PERMEABILITY OF FREE SPACE, K IS

THE REDUCTION FACTOR OF THE T.G AND

R IS THE RADIUS OF THE COIL OF THE T.G.

PROCEDURE
THE CIRCUIT IS MADE AS
SHOWN IN THE DIAGRAM. THE PLANE OF THE
COIL IS MADE VERTICAL BY ADJUSTING THE
LEVELING SCREWS. THE PLANE OF THE COIL
IS MADE BY ADJUSTING THE LEVELING
SCREWS. THE PLANE OF THE COIL IS MADE
PARALLEL TO (90-90) IN THE COMPASS BOX.
THE WHOLE T.G IS ROTATED TO READ (0-0) AT
THE ENDS OF THE ALUMINUM POINTER. NOW
THE PLANE OF THE COIL IS IN THE MAGNETIC
MERIDIAN.
THE COMMUTATOR KEYS
ARE PUT. THE RHEOSTAT SHOULD BE
ADJUSTED FOR DEFLECTION IN T.G BETWEEN
10 AND 60. FOR A CURRENT I, THE
DEFLECTIONS OF THE POINTER 1 & 2 ARE
NOTED. THE COMMUTATOR IS REVERSED. THE
DEFLECTIONS OF THE POINTER 3 & 4 ARE
NOTED. THE AVERAGE OF THE FOUR

READINGS IS THE DEFLECTION . FROM THE

THEORY OF THE T.G, I=K TAN.
BY VARYING THE CURRENT THE
EXPERIMENT IS REPEATED. USING A STRING
THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE COIL IS
MEASURED. HENCE ITS RADIUS R IS FOUND.
LET N BE THE NUMBER OF TURNS OF THE
COIL. THE HORIZONTAL INTENSITY AT THE
PLACE IS GIVEN BY, BH = 0NK/2R

OBSERVATION
TABLE
DEFLECTION IN T.G
AMMETE
SL.N
R
O
READIN
G (A)

MEAN

K
=I/TA
N

0.15

35

35

35

35

35

0.214
2

0.20

49

47

60

64

53.6

0.147
4

0.25

36

36

55

58

46.25

0.238
9

0.30

50

50

65

68

58.2

0.186
0

0.27

45

45

64

65

53.8

0.197
6

CALCULATIONS
MEAN K = 0.19682

THE REDUCTION FACTOR OF TH = 0.19682

NUMBER OF TURNS OF THE COIL

= 50

CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE COIL (S) = 2R

= 50.49 CM
RADIUS OF THE COIL R =
CM = 8.0410-2 CM

S/2

= 8.04

HORIZONTAL INTENSITY AT THE PLACE B H

0NK/2R

= 2NK10-7/R
= 7.686710-8
T

FOR DIFFERENT VALUES OF CURRENT I,

DEFLECTIONS ARE NOTED AND VALUES ARE
CALCULATED. KNOWING K, N AND R THE
VALUE OF HORIZONTAL INTENSITY BH CAN BE
CALCULATED.

RESULT
1.

THE REDUCTION FACTOR OF T.G, K

= 0.19682 A
2.
HORIZONTAL
INTENSITY
AT
THE
PLACE, BH = 7.686710-5 T

CONCLUSION
EXPERIMENT IN TANGENT GALVANOMETER
GIVES
THE
REDUCTION
FACTOR
OF
GALVANOMETER AND HORIZONTAL INTENSITY
OF EARTHS MAGNETIC FIELD.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
ILLUSTRATIVE OXFORD BOOK
WIKIPEDIA
NCERT PRACTICALS
INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL SCIENCE

THAN
K YOU