- #1
PFStudent
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Homework Statement
Currently, I am going through the magnetism section of my University Physics II course and I recognized that current has a magnitude and a direction. So, I was wondering why is that we do not treat current as a vector (Since, the direction current moves in can be represented using a unit vector.)?
Homework Equations
Biot-Savart Law
[tex]
{d{\vec{B}}} = {{\frac{{\mu}_{0}}{4{\pi}}}{\cdot}{\frac{Id{\vec{s}}{\times}{\vec{r}}}{{r}^{3}}}}
[/tex]
[tex]
{J} = {\frac{I}{A}}
[/tex]
[tex]
q = n_{e}e, {\textcolor[rgb]{1.00,1.00,1.00}{.}}{\textcolor[rgb]{1.00,1.00,1.00}{.}}{\textcolor[rgb]{1.00,1.00,1.00}{.}}{n_{e}} = \pm1, \pm 2, \pm 3,...,
[/tex]
e [itex]\equiv[/itex] elementary charge
[tex]
{n_{e}} = {\pm}N, {\textcolor[rgb]{1.00,1.00,1.00}{.}}{\textcolor[rgb]{1.00,1.00,1.00}{.}}{\textcolor[rgb]{1.00,1.00,1.00}{.}}{N} = 1, 2, 3,...,
[/tex]
[tex]
{N_{V}} = \frac{n_{e}}{V}
[/tex]
[tex]
{n_{e}} = {N_{V}}{V}
[/tex]
The Attempt at a Solution
I guess, we do not treat current as a vector because we recognize that any given current can go in two possible directions. Either forward or backward. So, because of the limit on the directions current can take we consider it a scalar? Is that right?
Thanks,
-PFStudent
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