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The solenoid and toroid are the two most important Ampere's law applications. An ideal solenoid (infinite, tightly wound) has uniform field inside ( = turns per unit length) and zero field outside. At the end of a finite solenoid: . The field is parallel to the axis, and the solenoid externally resembles a bar magnet.
A toroid is a solenoid bent into a ring with total turns: inside the toroid. Unlike the solenoid, the field varies across the cross-section (). For thin toroids, this variation is negligible. Critically, both outside the toroid AND inside the central hole — no current is enclosed in either region.
Common JEE traps: (1) Using total turns instead of turns per unit length in the solenoid formula. (2) Assuming the toroid's central hole has a field (it doesn't). (3) Confusing inside the toroid windings with in the hole. (4) Applying the solenoid formula to a toroid or vice versa. Coaxial solenoids follow superposition: fields add or subtract based on current directions.