Magnetic field lines of earth

[College3214]

I need help understanding a certain problem. It basically stated: an airplane accumulated a positive charge, heading westward above the equator. Find the direction of the force (using the lame right hand rule thing).

The problem I had was figuring out was whether the magnetic field would hit the plane at the top or bottom. I know the magnetic field lines go from Earth's's south geographic to north geographic poles. My answer was that the force would be outwards from the plane of the paper, but the correct answer was inwards. The trouble I had was visualizing Earth as a magnet. I know no field lines go through a magnet, so if the fields originate at the poles, in what direction do they go when it's something above the equator...do they circle the Earth and then dip back down towards the south geographies pole, or go directly from the south to north geographies poles?

 

[adjacent]

 

[rude man]

I need help understanding a certain problem. It basically stated: an airplane accumulated a positive charge, heading westward above the equator. Find the direction of the force (using the lame right hand rule thing).

The problem I had was figuring out was whether the magnetic field would hit the plane at the top or bottom. I know the magnetic field lines go from Earth's's south geographic to north geographic poles. My answer was that the force would be outwards from the plane of the paper, but the correct answer was inwards. The trouble I had was visualizing Earth as a magnet. I know no field lines go through a magnet, so if the fields originate at the poles, in what direction do they go when it's something above the equator...do they circle the Earth and then dip back down towards the south geographies pole, or go directly from the south to north geographies poles?

Along the equator the B field points roughly horizontal and North.
Then figure out q v x B direction.

 

[lightgrav]

Welcome to PF!
Magnetic Field lines DO go thru the magnet ... they are most intense within the magnetic material.
(this is inverse of Electric Fields thru dielectric).
Magnetic Fields do NOT start at one pole and end at the other (like E-fields do from +Q to -Q),
they exit N pole region and enter S pole region, but they do not END there.
adjascent's drawing shows 5 lines northward outside Earth
(the outermost should be farther out, with larger spacing to show less intensity)
there need to be 5 lines inside Earth also, from N (where they enter) to S (where they exit).

B never diverges anywhere, which means that there is no scalar that can be a source for B.
... rather, B is produced by vectors (Qv, I, μ) or induced by changing vectors (Qa, ΔI/Δt, ΔE/Δt)

 

[HalfLostAndSearching]

I can provide some clarification on the concept of magnetic field lines and how they interact with a positively charged airplane flying above the equator.

Firstly, it is important to understand that the Earth's magnetic field is not a simple dipole (magnet with two poles), but rather a complex, three-dimensional field with multiple poles. The magnetic field lines do not simply go from the south geographic pole to the north geographic pole, but instead form a loop around the Earth.

In the scenario described, the positively charged airplane is essentially a moving charged particle in the Earth's magnetic field. According to the right hand rule, the force on a moving charged particle in a magnetic field is perpendicular to both the direction of the particle's velocity and the direction of the magnetic field lines.

In this case, the airplane is heading westward, which means its velocity is perpendicular to the magnetic field lines, which are going from south to north. Using the right hand rule, the direction of the force would be downwards towards the Earth's surface.

It is important to note that the magnetic field lines do not "hit" the airplane at the top or bottom. Rather, the force acts on the charged particles in the airplane, causing it to experience a downward force.

In summary, the correct answer is that the force on the positively charged airplane flying westward above the equator would be pointing inwards towards the Earth's surface. I hope this explanation helps clarify the concept of magnetic field lines and their interaction with a moving charged particle in the Earth's magnetic field.