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The Magnetic Field of a Current in a Straight WireClick and drag to rotate the view. To move the compass hold dowm the control key and drag with the mouse.
Magnetic fields are produced when an electric current flows in a wire. The animation above shows a vertical wire with a current flowing along it and a small compass. The green arrow shows the direction of the current. The north pole of the compass is shown in red. Move the compass with the mouse. What do you think the pattern of field lines
would look like? Reverse the current direction. What effect does this have on the magnetic field? How to work out the field direction. 
Imagine you are holding the wire with your right hand, as shown above, with your thumb pointing in the direction of the current.
Your fingers will then point in the direction of the field.
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This button reverses the direction of the curent.
This button switches to a full screen view.