We're Surrounded by Magnetic Fields

Although we cannot see or feel them, magnetic fields are all around us. Any moving electric charge produces both electric and magnetic fields. Just like an electric field, a magnetic field exerts a force on other charges so long as they are moving in a direction that is not parallel to the field itself. Some objects, including the Earth, appear to create their own magnetic fields.

Magnetic Fields Produced by Electrical Charges

Electric current flowing through a wire produces a predictable magnetic field. The direction of the field can be determined by using what is commonly known as the 'right hand rule'. By imagining that you are grasping the wire with your right hand and pointing your thumb along the wire in the same direction that the current is moving, the way in which your fingers curl will match the resulting magnetic field is oriented. From this simple experiement, it is clear that magnetic fields that result from a current carrying wire occur in a circular form, spinning around the wire. The magnetic field is strongest close to the wire and diminishes with distance.

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Magnetic fields are measured in what is known as Tesla (T) unit, named in honor of the inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla. In cgs units (centimeter-gram-second), the fields are measured in Gauss (G), named after the famous German scientist Carl Friedrich Gauss. Ten thousand Gauss equal one Tesla.

Another way to define magnetic fields is by the amount of force they will exert on a given charge. The force is determined using the equation F = qvB, where F is the force in newtons, q is the charge the force is acting on measured in coulombs, v is the velocity of charge q in meters per second, and B is the magnetic density of the field in Teslas.

Self-Producing Objects

Due to the electronic alignment of certain substances, some objects can generate their own magnetic fields by themselves. These objects are usually metals (metals have the required valence electrons) and are commonly referred to as magnets. The magnetic fields of these objects orient in a dipole manner, one pole referred to as positive, the other as negative, much like designations used in electric fields. Sometimes these poles are referred to as north and south.

The Earth's Magnetic Field

For reasons that aren't entirely understood, the Earth itself has a magnetic field. It is this magnetic field that is the basis for the compass, which is essentially a sensitive magnetic pointer that will align itself along the Earth's magnetic field. Since the Earth's field is oriented from magnetic south to magnetic north, a compass gives a good indication of which way is north. Even though magnetic north is not the same as the actual north pole, from most locations on the planet it is close enough to make compasses an accurate guide.

"We're Surrounded by Magnetic Fields" contributed by John C. Christianson