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If a long hollow copper pipe carries a current, then the magnetic field produced will be

Asked in AIPMT 1999 · Thick wires and cables

Answer: (2) outside the pipe only

Step-by-step solution

Idea: apply Ampere's law on a circle inside the cavity and on one outside the pipe.

Inside the hollow, r<rᵢₙₙₑᵣ: the circle encloses no current, so B(2π r)=μ₀×0.

That gives B=0 everywhere inside the cavity.

Outside the pipe, r>rₒᵤₜₑᵣ: the circle encloses the whole current I, so B(2π r)=μ₀I.

B=(μ₀I)/(2π r) — the same as for a solid wire carrying I.

So the field exists outside the pipe only.

Why the other options are wrong

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