ATP: Hall Effect and Lorentz Force

Care to take a peek under the hood of reality? Hall effect and Lorentz force are big news in the land of the tiny.

Today we're going to get small and talk about some of the freaky stuff that happens between current and magnetism. Specifically, we're going to explore what Hall effect is and, by extension, the Lorentz force. If you're an engineer, you'll know that the Lorentz force is a perennial favorite topic. And if you're not an engineer (yet), this is one of those things you just gotta know.

We'll look at the actual experimental write-up by Edwin Hall from 1879 (and even try to replicate his results), and talk about CGS units and the right-hand rule. Then we'll talk about available sensors and applications, along with sensitivity ranges and prices that you may encounter. Last, I'm going to admonish you to go read about this stuff.

Here come some links!

Hall effect - Because that's our topic.

Lorentz force - This is what's really going on.

On a New Action of the Magnet on Electric Currents - Direct from the mouth of the guy that did the work.

The Abampere - How would you quantify current in the mid-1800's?

CGS Units - In the dark days before SI units.

Thomson Galvanometer - Because it's just too cool.