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Biot-Savart Law (Calculus) definitions Flashcards

Biot-Savart Law (Calculus) definitions
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  • Biot-Savart Law
    A fundamental equation to calculate the magnetic field produced by a current in a wire.
  • Magnetic Field
    A vector field surrounding a current-carrying wire or moving charge, influencing other currents and magnetic materials.
  • Current
    The flow of electric charge, typically measured in amperes, represented by I in equations.
  • Infinitesimal Segment
    A very small vector segment of a wire, denoted as dL, used in integration to calculate fields.
  • Position Vector
    A vector, denoted as r, pointing from the current element to the point where the field is calculated.
  • Cross Product
    A mathematical operation on two vectors producing a third vector perpendicular to the plane of the first two.
  • Implicit Differentiation
    A calculus technique used to differentiate equations not solved for one variable in terms of another.
  • Velocity
    The rate of change of position of a charge, influencing the magnetic field produced.
  • Point Charge
    An idealized model of a particle with electric charge concentrated at a single point in space.
  • Distributed Current
    A current spread over a region or along a wire, as opposed to a single moving charge.
  • Mu Naught (μ₀)
    The permeability of free space, a constant used in calculating magnetic fields.
  • Theta (θ)
    The angle between the velocity vector of a charge and the position vector in magnetic field calculations.
  • Integral
    A mathematical operation used to sum infinitesimal contributions to calculate quantities like fields.
  • R Cubed (r³)
    The cube of the distance from the current element to the point of field measurement, affecting field strength.
  • Q
    Symbol representing electric charge, used in equations for calculating magnetic fields from moving charges.