Flux Lines - Wire and Loop Notes

Flux Lines - Wire

Ex 2) Magnetic field around Straight Conductor (A Wire)

Right hand rule to determine the orientation of a magnetic field around a wire

Image created by John Wetzel, founding author of WikiPremed.
Released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Magnetic field flux lines around the conductor are circular.

To find the direction of the flux lines:

a) Use north pole of a compass

b) "First Left Hand Rule" Why Left and not right??

1) Palms away, left hand thumb direction of electron flow (current)

2) fingers curl in direction of magnetic field

Do the magnetic lines of flux go

IN or OUT at the top?

Review

What's wrong with this picture?

Flux lines point
out of north into south

What's this?

A bar magnet is moving beneath the paper
that are covered with iron filings