Compass And Electric Current

When the current flows through the wire the compass needle aligns itself with the magnetic field created by the electrons traveling in the current rather than with the earth s magnetic field.

Compass and electric current.

To gain a deeper understanding of what an electric current is and how it behaves in a conductor we can use the water pipe analogy of electricity certainly there are some limitations but they serve as a very basic illustration of current and current flow. Now if we increase distance of magnetic compass from current the electric compass deflects less than before thus magnetic field becomes less as we move away from the wire a video explanation is given below what is electromagnetism it is branch of physics which studies phenomena of electrical current and magnetic fields. When you put the compass near the electrical wire with current flowing through it the compass did not point north. We can compare the electric current to the water flowing through the pipe.

Click the turn on button to connect the battery and create an electric current in the wire which travels from the positive to the negative terminals. If only the earth s magnetic field is involved the the compass points to magnetic north. Instead the compass needle pointed in the direction of the current s magnetic field. A compass will be most affected by the magnetic field of a current carrying wire when the plane of the compass is at 90 degrees to the wire and lest effected when the plane of the compass is in the same plane as the wire.