Concept Check: Magnetic Fields

The Earth produces a magnetic field of 0.25 gauss. If an MRI produces a magnetic field of 1.5 Tesla. What is the ratio of the magnetic field strength in gauss of an MRI to that of the Earth?

An MRI, shown below, creates generates a magnetic field by running a large current through conductive loops. If the current is being run in a clockwise fashion in which direction will the magnetic field point?

Electrons have an intrinsic spin of +1/2 or -1/2 that defines whether they are spin-up or spin-down respectively. The spin direction (i.e. spin-up) refers to the direction of the magnetic field generated by an electron. If an electron’s intrinsic spin is modeled like a loop of wire with the current direction being equivalent to the direction of an electron’s spin in which direction is a spin-up electron spinning?

When gallbladder inflammation or other pathology is suspected within the hepatobiliary tract a special MRI scan call HIDA scan might be used if other imaging techniques have failed to detect an underlying issue. The MRI scanners used during HIDA scans can generate 1.5 Tesla or 3 Tesla at the center of the MRI tube. What current is closest to that needed to generate the strongest magnetic field if the center of an MRI is located 0.6 meters away from the wire loop in the MRI?