Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-2-paper-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015-resit/4/solution

The magnetostatic Ampère's law is , equivalently in vacuum. Let the wire radius be and take positive electric current along its axis. Cylindrical symmetry makes azimuthal and constant in magnitude on a radius- circular path, so .
Uniform electric current density gives . Inside the wire, ; outside, the full electric current is enclosed. Therefore
The direction is set by the right-hand rule around the electric current. The magnitude starts at zero on the axis, rises linearly to at the surface and then falls as . The two expressions are continuous at . The long-wire approximation neglects end effects and any high-frequency redistribution of electric current.

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