A wire runs left to right and carries a current in the direction shown.

Question

A horizontal line representing a wire. There is a vector right labeled I. There is a point labeled Z below the line.
What is the direction of the magnetic field at point Z?

left
right
into the screen
out of the screen

Answer 1

To determine the direction of the magnetic field created by a current-carrying wire, you can use the right-hand rule.

1. Point your thumb in the direction of the current (in this case, to the right).
2. Curl your fingers around the wire.

Your fingers will curl in a circular direction around the wire. At point Z, which is located below the wire, your fingers will curl from the right side of the wire toward the bottom and towards the left side.

Thus, at point Z, the direction of the magnetic field will be directed into the screen.