As depicted in the figure, the wires P₁ Q₁ and P₂ Q₂ slide along the rails at an identical speed of 5 cm s ⁻¹ . Assuming the 19 resistor is disconnected, determine the current flowing through P₂ Q₂ when both wires travel towards the right.

Step-by-step solution

The motional emf induced in a moving wire is given by e = Bvl . For both wires P₁ Q₁ and P₂ Q₂ , the induced emf is: e = 1.0 0.04 0.05 = 0.002 V = 2 mV Since both wires are moving in the same direction with the same speed, the induced emfs in both wires are equal in magnitude and have the same polarity (higher potential at P₁ and P₂ ). With the 19 resistor disconnected, the two wires form a closed loop P₁ P₂ Q₂ Q₁ . In this loop, the two emfs oppose each other. The net emf in the loop is e_ net = e - e = 0 . Altern