Given: A long straight wire of radius a carries a steady current I uniformly distributed over its cross-section.
Find: How the magnetic field varies with distance r from the axis in the regions r<a and r>a.
Using Ampere's law, the magnetic field at distance r depends on the current enclosed by an Amperian circle of radius r.
For the region inside the wire where **r∗∗
Applying Ampere's law,
B(2πr)=μ0Ienc=μ0Ia2r2
Hence,
B=2πa2μ0Ir
So, inside the wire, B∝r.
For the region outside the wire where r>a, the entire current I is enclosed. Therefore,
B(2πr)=μ0I
which gives
B=2πrμ0I
So, outside the wire, B∝r1.
Therefore, the magnetic field is directly proportional to r in the region r<a and inversely proportional to r in the region r>a. The correct option is C.