Physics Project

Name:- Selva Niklesh

Roll No:-
Class:- 12th
Topic:- Moving coil galvanometer

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 Certificate:-
This is to certify that Selva Niklesh, a student of
Class 12th (Science) has successfully completed
the project on the above mentioned topic under
the guidance of (Subject Teacher) during the
year 2017-2018 in partial fulfillment of Physics
Practical Examination conducted by

Signature of the Examiner Signature of subject teacher

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Acknowledgement:-

The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of

guidance and assistance from many people. I am extremely
privileged to thanks Mr. Rana Sir (Subject Teacher) for providing
me an opportunity to do the project work and giving me all
support and guidance which made me complete the project
appropriately. He was always supportive and inspirational for
completing this project. I am also extremely thankful to all my
friends for providing me all the necessary support and guidance.
n Class 12th – Science-PCB

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Objective: To study the basic schematic
structure of a moving coil galvanometer
and the basic process underlying the
conversion of a moving coil
galvanometer into an ammeter and a
voltmeter.

References:-
 NCERT Class 12 Physics Textbook
 http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html
 http://www.brainkart.com/article/Moving-coil-galvanometer

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 Contents:-
 Basics about magnetic effects of current and magnetism
 Torque on a current carrying coil placed in a magnetic field
 Brief introduction into the different types of Galvanometers along
with brief description
 General structure of a moving coil galvanometer
 Conversion of a Galvanometer into an Ammeter
 Conversion of a Galvanometer into a Voltmeter

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 Basics about Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism:-
 Introduction:-

Electromagnetism: The branch of physics which deals with interaction of electric current
or fields and magnetic fields.

Magnetic field: A region of space near a magnet, electric current or moving charged
particle in which magnetic effects are exerted on any other magnet, electric current, or
moving charged particle. It is also known as magnetic flux density or magnetic
induction or magnetic field.

Unit: Weber/m2 or Tesla Dimensions: [MT-2A-1]

 Oersted’s Discovery:-

The relation between electricity and magnetism was discovered

by Oersted in 1820. Oested showed that the electric current
through the conducting wire deflects the magnetic needle
held near the wire. On increasing the current in conductor or
bringing the needle closer to the conductor, the deflection of
magnetic needle increases.

Oersted discovered a magnetic field around a conductor

carrying current.

The magnetic field A magnet at rest produces a magnetic field around it while
(marked B
an electric charge at rest produces an electric field
indicated by field lines) around wire
carrying an electric current (marked I).
around it.
A current carrying conductor has a magnetic field and not an
electric field around it. On the other hand, a charge moving with uniform velocity has an
electric as well as a magnetic field around it.

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  Biot-Savart’s Law:-

With the help of experimental results, Biot and Savart arrived at a mathematical
expression that gives the magnetic field at some point in terms of the current that
produces the field.

 Magnetic Field Lines: In order to visualize a magnetic field graphically, Michael

Faraday introduced the concept of field lines. Field lines of magnetic field are
imaginary lines which represents direction of magnetic field continuously.
o Magnetic field lines emanate from or enter in the surface of a magnetic
material at any angle.
o Magnetic field lines exist inside every magnetized material.
o Magnetic field lines can be mapped by using iron dust or using compass
needle.
o They are closed curves.
o Tangent drawn on any point on field lines represents direction of the field at
that point.
o Field lines never intersect each other.

Quick Fact: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines generate a field 60,000 times as intense as the earth’s to v

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  Magnetic Force:-

The implications of this expression include:

1. The force is perpendicular to both the velocity v of the charge q and the magnetic field B.

2. The magnitude of the force is F = qvB sinθ where θ is the angle <180 degrees
between the velocity and the magnetic field. This implies that the magnetic force on a
stationary charge or a charge moving parallel or antiparaller to the magnetic field is
zero.

3. The direction of the force is given by the left hand rule. The force relationship above
is in the form of a vector product.
When current flows through a conducting wire, and an
external magnetic field is applied across that flow, the
conducting wire experiences a force perpendicular both
to that field and to the direction of the current flow (i.e
they are mutually perpendicular) .

 The Thumb represents the direction of

Motion resulting from the force on the conductor
 The First finger represents the direction of
the magnetic Field
 The Second finger represents the direction
of the Current.
Fleming’s Left Hand Rule to find the direction of force (movement)
on a moving charged particle (or current carrying conductor)
placed in Magnetic Field.
This diagram illustrates how to find
out the direction of force on a
charged particle moving in a region
of magnetic field. This method is
based on the vector product of two
vectors where the resultant vector is
perpendicular to the plane
containing both vectors.
M o v i n g C o i l G a l v a n o m e t e r - P h y s i c s P r o j e c t Page 8
  Lorentz Force:-
When a charge is moving in a region, where both electric field and
magnetic field having magnitudes E and B respectively exist, then electric
and magnetic forces are acting on it. The resultant of these forces is
called electromagnetic force or Lorentz force on charge.

 Magnetic
Moment:-

Magnetic moment of a bar magnet is defined as a vector quantity having magnitude

equal to the product of pole strength (m) with effective length (l) and directed along the
axis of the magnet from South to North pole.

𝑀 = 𝑚 .𝑙

Magnetic Moment of a current carrying coil (loop): A current carrying coil behaves like
a magnetic dipole. The face of coil in which current appears to flow anticlockwise acts
as North Pole while face of coil in which current appears to flow clock wise acts as
South Pole.

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A loop of geometrical area ‘A’, carries a current ‘I’, then magnetic moment of coil M=IA

A coil of ‘N’ turns, geometrical area ‘A’, carries a current ‘I’, then magnetic moment M=NIA

 Torque on a Current carrying coil placed in Magnetic Field:-

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 TYPES OF GALVANOMETERS:-
o Tangent Galvanometer:- It works by using a compass needle to compare the magnetic
field generated by an unknown current to the magnetic field of the Earth. It was used
earlier. It was first given by Claude Pouillet. It contains an insulated copper wire coil on a
non-magnetic circular frame.
o Astatic Galvanometer:- It does not use the Earth’s magnetic field for measuring the
current. It was developed by Leopoldo Nobili. It contains two magnetized needles that run
parallel to each other, suspended by a silk thread, with their magnetic poles reversed. The
lower needle gets deflected by the passing current’s magnetic field. The second needle
cancels out the dipole movement of the first one to cancel out the effects of Earth’s
magnetic field.
o Mirror Galvanometer:- It is used to achieve higher sensitivity for detecting extremely
small currents. It contains horizontal magnets which are suspended from a fine fiber inside
of the vertical coil, with an attached mirror to its magnets. A beam of light reflects from the
mirror acts as a long mass-less pointer by falling on a graduated scale across the room.
o Ballistic Galvanometer:- It is sensitive in mature and used to measure the quantity of
charge that is discharged through it. The moving part of the galvanometer has a large
moment of inertia, giving it a long oscillation period. It may be of the moving coil type or of

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the moving magnet type.

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  Moving Coil Galvanometer:-
 Introduction:-

A galvanometer is an electromechanical instrument for detecting and indicating electric

current. A galvanometer works as an actuator, by producing a rotary deflection (of a
"pointer"), in response to electric current flowing through a coil in a constant magnetic
field. Galvanometers developed from the observation that the needle of a magnetic
compass is deflected near a wire that has electric current flowing through it, first
described by Hans Oersted in 1820. They were the first instruments used to detect and
measure small amounts of electric currents. Sensitive galvanometers have been
essential for the development of science and technology in many fields.
Galvanometers also had widespread use as the visualising part in other kinds of
analog meters, for example in light meters, VU meters, etc., where they were used to
measure and display the output of other sensors.

 Principle:-

When a current carrying coil is suspended in a uniform magnetic field it is acted upon
by a torque. Under the action of this torque, the coil rotates and the deflection in the
coil in a moving coil galvanometer is directly proportional to the current flowing through
the coil.

 Construction:-

It consists of a rectangular coil of thin insulated

copper wires having a large number of turns. The
horseshoe magnet has cylindrically concave pole-
pieces. Due to this shape, the magnet produces
radial magnetic field so that when coil rotates in
any position its plane is always parallel to the
direction of magnetic field. When current flows
through the coil it gets deflected. A soft iron
cylinder is fixed inside the coil such that the coil
can rotate freely between the poles and around
the cylinder. Due to the high permittivity, the soft
iron core increases the strength of the radial
Schematic Diagram of a Moving Coil Galvanometer
magnetic field.

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  Working:-

When a current flows through the coil, a torque acts on it. This torque is given by the
equation
𝜏 = 𝑁𝑖𝐴𝐵 where the symbols have their usual meaning. Since the field is radial by design, we
have taken sin 𝜃 = 1 in the above expression for the torque. The magnetic torque 𝜏 = 𝑁𝑖𝐴𝐵
tends to rotate the coil. A spring S p provides a counter torque 𝜏 = 𝐾𝜑 that balances the
magnetic torque 𝜏 = 𝑁𝑖𝐴𝐵; resulting in a steady angular deflection 𝜑.
In equilibrium, 𝐾𝜑 = 𝑁𝑖𝐴𝐵 where 𝐾 is the torsional constant of the spring; i.e. the
restoring torque per unit twist. The deflection 𝜑 is indicated on the scale by a pointer
attached to the
𝑁𝐴𝐵
spring. We have 𝜑 = 𝑖.
𝐾

The quantity given in brackets is a constant for the galvanometer. Hence, Galvanometer
Constant G can be expressed as:-

𝑁𝐴𝐵
𝐺 = 𝐾
∴ 𝜑 = 𝐺𝑖

∴𝑖 ∝𝜑

So, the current through the coil varies linearly with the deflection and so, the current
flowing through the coil can be known by measuring the deflection.

The galvanometer can be used as a detector to check if a current is flowing in the

circuit (this configuration is used in the Wheatstone’s bridge arrangement). In this
usage the neutral position of the pointer (when no current is flowing through the
galvanometer) is in the middle of the scale and not at the left end. Depending on the
direction of the current, the pointer deflection is either to the right or the left.

Quick Fact: Greek scientist, Archimedes was the first person to have made use of magnets. The story goes that he enabled enemy s

Moving Coil Galvanometer-Physics Proje Page

  Current Sensitivity of Galvanometer:-

The current sensitivity of a galvanometer is defined as the deflection produced when

unit current passes through the galvanometer. A galvanometer is said to be sensitive if it
produces large deflection for a small current.
𝜑 𝑁𝐵𝐴
∴ 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑆𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝐾
𝑖
 Factors increasing Current Sensitivity:-
 Increasing the magnetic field B by using strong permanent horse shoe
shaped magnet.
 Increasing the number of turns N. But number of turns of the coil cannot be
increased beyond a certain limit. This is because the resistance of the
galvanometer will increase subsequently and hence the galvanometer
becomes less sensitivity.
 Increasing the area of the coil A. But it will make the galvanometer bulky
and ultimately less sensitive.
 Decreasing the value of restoring force constant k by using a flat strip of
phosphor
– bronze instead of circular wire of phosphor – bronze. Quartz fibers can
also be used for suspension of the coil because they have large tensile
strength and very low value of K.
 Voltage Sensitivity of Galvanometer:-

The voltage sensitivity of a galvanometer is defined as the deflection per unit voltage.

∴ 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝜑
= 𝜑
= 𝑁𝐵𝐴
where G = Galvanometer Resistance
𝑉 𝐼𝐺 𝐾𝐺

 An interesting point to note is that, increasing the current sensitivity does not
necessarily, increase the voltage sensitivity. When the number of turns (n) is
doubled, current sensitivity is also doubled (equation 1). But increasing the
number of turns correspondingly increases the resistance (G). Hence voltage
sensitivity remains unchanged.

Moving Coil Galvanometer-Physics Proje Page

 Factors increasing Voltage Sensitivity:-
 Increasing number of turns of the coil (N)
 Increasing magnetic field intensity (B)
 Increasing area of the coil (A)
 Decreasing restoring torque per unit twist of the suspension (k)
 Decreasing resistance (G)

 Advantages of a Moving Coil Galvanometer:-

 The sensitivity of the galvanometer can be increased by increasing N, B and A while
decreasing the value of k.
 The instrument has a linear scale.
 Since the instrument uses high value of B, the deflection is undisturbed by the earth’s
magnetic field.
 As the coil is wound on a nonmagnetic metallic frame, damping is produced by eddy
currents. As a result the coil quickly assumes the final position.

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 Conversion of a Galvanometer to an
Ammeter and a Voltmeter:-
 Conversion of a Galvanometer into an Ammeter:-

The galvanometer cannot as such be used as an ammeter to measure the value of the
current in a given circuit. This is for two reasons: (i) Galvanometer is a very sensitive
device, it gives a full-scale deflection for a current of the order of µA. (ii) For measuring
currents, the galvanometer has to be connected in series, and as it has a large
resistance, this will change the value of the current in the circuit. To overcome these
difficulties, one attaches a small resistance S, called shunt resistance, in parallel with the
galvanometer coil; so that most of the current passes through the shunt.

The value of shunt resistance depends on the

fraction of the total current required to be passed
through the galvanometer. Let Ig be the maximum
current that can be passed through the galvanometer.
The current Ig will give full scale deflection in the
galvanometer.

Galvanometer Resistance =
G Shunt Resistance = S
Current in the circuit = I

∴ 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐼𝑠 = 𝐼 − 𝐼𝑔

Since the galvanometer and the shunt resistance are connected in parallel, the potential
difference across both of them is same.

∴ 𝐼𝑔 . 𝐺 = 𝐼 − 𝐼𝑔 . 𝑆
𝐼𝑔
∴ 𝑆 = 𝐺.
𝐼 − 𝐼𝑔

The shunt resistance is very small because Ig is only a fraction of I.

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 The effective resistance of the ammeter Ra is (G in parallel with S):-

𝑅𝑎
𝐺. 𝑆
= 𝐺+𝑆

Ra is very low and this explains why an ammeter should be connected in series.
When connected in series, the ammeter does not appreciably change the
resistance and current in the circuit. Hence an ideal ammeter is one which has
zero resistance.

 Conversion of a Galvanometer into a Voltmeter:-

Voltmeter is an instrument used to measure potential difference between the two ends
of a current carrying conductor. A galvanometer can be converted into a voltmeter by
connecting a high resistance in series with it. The scale is calibrated in volt.

The value of the resistance connected in series decides

the range of the voltmeter.

Galvanometer Resistance = G

The current required to produce full scale deflection in

the galvanometer = Ig

Range of Voltmeter =

V Resistance to be connected in series = R

Since R is connected in series with the galvanometer, the current through the
galvanometer,

∴ 𝐼𝑔
𝑉
= 𝑅+𝐺
𝑉
∴𝑅= −𝐺
𝐼𝑔

From the equation the resistance to be connected in series with the galvanometer is
calculated. The effective resistance of the voltmeter is:-

∴ 𝑅𝑣 = 𝑅 + 𝐺

Moving Coil Galvanometer-Physics Proje Page

Rv is very large, and hence a voltmeter is connected in parallel in a circuit as it draws
the least current from the circuit. In other words, the resistance of the voltmeter should
be very large compared to the resistance across which the voltmeter is connected to
measure the potential difference. Otherwise, the voltmeter will draw a large current from
the circuit and hence the current through the remaining part of the circuit decreases. In
such a case the potential difference measured by the voltmeter is very much less than
the actual potential difference. The error is eliminated only when the voltmeter has a
high resistance. An ideal voltmeter is one which has infinite resistance.

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