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