Oersted’s Principle

• Whenever a charge moves through a straight conductor, a circular magnetic field is created around the conductor.
• The direction of the magnetic field depends on the direction of the current.
• The strength of the magnetic field gets weaker the farther away from the wire.

His Discovery

He connected electricity to magnetism. He discovered that an electric current in a conductor produces a magnetic field around the conductor.

Right hand rule for a straight conductor

If you hold a straight conductor in your right hand with your right thumb pointing in the direction of the conventional current, your curled fingers will point in the direction of the magnetic field lines

Representing Currents and Magnetic Fields