Measuring Earth's Local Magnetic Field Using a Helmholtz Coil Available to Purchase

In this paper, I present a low-cost interactive experiment for measuring the strength of Earth's local magnetic field. This activity can be done in most high schools or two-year physics laboratories with limited resources, yet will have a tremendous learning impact. This experiment solidifies the three-dimensional nature of Earth's magnetic field vector and helps reinforce the aspect of the vertical component of Earth's magnetic field. Students should realize that Earth's magnetic field is not fully horizontal (except at the magnetic equator) and that a compass simply indicates the direction of the horizontal component of Earth's magnetic field. A magnetic dip needle compass can be used to determine the angle (known as the “dip angle” or “inclination angle”) measured from the direction in which Earth's magnetic field vector points to the horizontal. In this activity, students will be able to determine the horizontal component of the field using a Helmholtz coil and, knowing the dip angle, the Earth's magnetic field strength can be determined.