Lines of force due to earth's horizontal magnetic field are Parallel and straight. Explan with diagram.
Dear Student,
The earth's magnetic field may be approximated by a magnetic dipole lying at the centre of earth such that the magnetic north pole is near geographical north pole and its magnetic south pole is near geographic south pole. Thus the magnetic north pole behaves like the south pole of a bar magnet inside the earth and vise versa. The earth magnetic field lines are almost parallel to the earth's surface near the equators and perpendicular to the surface near the poles.
If we draw the magnetic field lines of earth using a compass needle the earth's magnetic field lines in a limited space are parallel and equidistant these represent a uniform magnetic field. Actually the earth's magnetic field is weak so the deflection is not noticeable over a small distance but over the large space it can be noticed significantly.
Regards.
The earth's magnetic field may be approximated by a magnetic dipole lying at the centre of earth such that the magnetic north pole is near geographical north pole and its magnetic south pole is near geographic south pole. Thus the magnetic north pole behaves like the south pole of a bar magnet inside the earth and vise versa. The earth magnetic field lines are almost parallel to the earth's surface near the equators and perpendicular to the surface near the poles.
If we draw the magnetic field lines of earth using a compass needle the earth's magnetic field lines in a limited space are parallel and equidistant these represent a uniform magnetic field. Actually the earth's magnetic field is weak so the deflection is not noticeable over a small distance but over the large space it can be noticed significantly.
Regards.