Chapter 29, Problem 26P

You are given a certain volume of copper from which you can make copper wire. To insulate the wire, you can have as much enamel as you like. You will use the wire to make a tightly wound solenoid 20 cm long having the greatest possible magnetic field at the center and using a power supply that can deliver a current of 5 A. The solenoid can be wrapped with wire in one or more layers. (a) Should you make the wire long and thin or shorter and thick? Explain. (b) Should you make the radius of the solenoid small or large? Explain.