[Physics] Why in a solenoid, do the magnetic field lines resemble that of a bar magnet

electromagnetisminductancemagnetic fields

Each loop in the solenoid will have its own magnetic field wrapped around it. In that case it won't resemble the magnetic lines formed by a bar magnet…; but we see that it is the same. Why is that?

Best Answer

By applying Fleming's Right Hand in each turn, we get magnetic field lines that look like this :-

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But Magnetic field lines never intersect. They interact with the fieds of the surrounding turns of solenoid to form a combined magnetic field which looks like this:-

.. .. .. enter image description here

From www.nde-ed.org :-

The magnetic field circling each loop of wire combines with the fields from the other loops to produce a concentrated field down the centre of the coil. A loosely wound coil is illustrated to show the interaction of the magnetic field. The magnetic field is essentially uniform down the length of the coil when it is wound tighter.

If the loops or turns are extremely close to each other, magnetic field lines between neighbouring turns effectively cancel, resulting in straight magnetic fields inside the solenoid, similar magnetic fields inside a bar magnet :-

.. .. .. enter image description here

The magnetic field lines around (a) a bar magnet and (b) a current carrying solenoid :-

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EDIT

As in the case of bar-magnets, the magnetic field is stronger inside the solenoid than outside it. Magnetic field lines are closely packed inside the solenoid, and magnetic field is concentrated into a nearly uniform magnetic field inside the solenoid. The magnetic fields outside are weak and spread out.

ATTRIBUTION

The first three diagrams are snipped from a video available on YouTube: Concepts in physics - Electromagnetism