Amolorpavam Lourdes Academy-

605 007
PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT
TANGENT GALVANOMETER
2024-25

Submitted by: M. krithish

XII-D
School Roll No. : 120406
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sl. No. Contents Page no.
1. ACKNOWLEDMENT 04

2. OBJECTIVES 05

3. INTRODUCTION 06-08

4. ABOUT THE TOPIC 09-11

5. EXPERIMENT 12-13

6. OBSERVATION TABLE 14-15

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY 16
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this opportunity to express

my deep sense of gratitude to all those people
without whom this project could have never
been completed. First and foremost, I’d like to
thank my parents for his inexhaustible source
of inspiration.
I would like to thank my Principal Mr. Nancy
and school for providing me with the facilities
required to complete this project.
I am highly indebted to my Physics teacher Dr.
Mary Latha , for his invaluable guidance
which has sustained my efforts in all the stages
of this project work.
 My thanks and appreciation goes out to my
fellow classmates and to the people who have
willingly helped me out with this project to the
best of their abilities.
Signature of the Candidate
M. Krithish

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 paleomagnetic 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 in nanoteslas (nT), with 1 G = 100,000
nT. A nanotesla is also referred to as a gamma (γ). The tesla is
the SI unit of the Magnetic field, B. The field ranges between
approximately 25,000 and 65,000 nT (0.25–0.65 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 center. A compass box is mounted
horizontally at the center of a circular scale. It consists of a
tiny, powerful magnetic needle pivoted at the center 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 aluminum
pointer is attached to the needle at its center 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 θ with the direction
of Bh.
From Figure B = Bh tanθ. This is known as tangent law of
magnetism. If θ is the deflection of the needle, then according
to tangent law,
B = Bh tanθ (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 = µ0nI/2a (2) (a is the radius of the
coil) Equating (1) and (2), we get,
Bh tanθ = µ0nI/2a (3)
2aBh/µ0n = I/tanθ (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/tanθ (5)
Now from the equation (3) & (5), the horizontal intensity of Earth’s
magnetic field Bh is,
Bh = µ0nK/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 Earth’s magnetic
field

Apparatus
Accumulator, Rheostat, Ammeter, Commutator, Tangent
Galvanometer

Principle&Formulae
 The reduction factor of T.G is K=I/tanθ, where I is the
current flowing through the T.G which produces the
deflection θ.
 The horizontal intensity of Earth’s magnetic field at a
place. Bh
= µ0nK/2r, where n is the number of turns of the coil, µ 0 =
4π×10-7 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 θ1 & θ2 are noted. The
Commutator is reversed. The deflections of the pointer θ3 &
θ4 are noted. The average of the four readings is the
deflection θ. From the theory of the T.G, I=K tanθ.
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 = µ0nK/2r
OBSERVATION TABLE
Ammete Deflection in T.G
SL.N r Mean K=I/
o Readin tanθ
g (A) θ θ θ θ4
1 2 3

1 0.15 35 35 35 35 35 0.2142

2 0.20 49 47 60 64 53.6 0.1474

3 0.25 36 36 55 58 46.25 0.2389

4 0.30 50 50 65 68 58.2 0.1860

5 0.27 45 45 64 65 53.8 0.1976

Mean K = 0.19682
 The reduction factor of TH = 0.19682

 Number of turns of the coil = 50

 Circumference of the coil (S) = 2πr = 50.49 cm

 Radius of the coil r = S/2π = 8.04 cm =

8.04×10-2 cm
Horizontal Intensity at the place Bh = µ0nK/2r
= 2πnK×10-7/r
= 7.6867×10-8 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 = 7.6867×10-5 T

CONCLUSION
Experiment in tangent galvanometer gives the reduction
factor of galvanometer and horizontal intensity of Earth’s
magnetic field.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Illustrative Oxford Book
 Wikipedia
 NCERT Practical’s
 Introduction to Physical Science
End of
the
project
Thankyou!