Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2014 Paper 2 Section A A3 Solution 2026-10-20
Use turns of mean radius , including the wire radius, on a light nonmagnetic rod. With wire radius , length and density , neglecting helical pitch givesThe last expression is the transverse central moment of inertia of the uniformly distributed turns. The magnetic torque is , so the small-angle magnetic dipole oscillation obeys . HenceThe number of turns cancels. Taking the turn radius as instead gives , consistent at the accuracy of the thin-winding model. The rod's inertia, damping and lead-wire torque are neglected.