NEET 2012 Physics question

Not in JEE Advanced syllabus

A compass needle which is allowed to move in a horizontal plane is taken to a geomagnetic pole. It:

(1)will stay in east-west direction only
(2)will become rigid showing no movement
(3)will stay in any positionCorrect
(4)will stay in north-south direction only

Answer: (3)

Solution

At a geomagnetic pole the earth's magnetic field is vertical (angle of dip ), so its horizontal component is . A compass needle free to rotate only in a horizontal plane responds only to ; with there is no torque on it and no direction is preferred. The needle

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Question ID VK-091272