mag field, current, right hand rule

[nrddct]

I get confused on which direction the mag field is supposed to point. Lets say current travels to the right. Does the magnetic field point out or into the screen? I see it as both b/c it depends on how far you can curl your fingers!?

Also whats the rule that includes your palm?

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[Ebete]

I get confused on which direction the mag field is supposed to point. Lets say current travels to the right. Does the magnetic field point out or into the screen? I see it as both b/c it depends on how far you can curl your fingers!?

Also whats the rule that includes your palm?

The direction of the magnetic field is due to a current carrying wire. To find the direction of the field; place your thumb in the direction of the current, and grab the wire, the direction in which your fingers wrap around the wire is the direction of the magnetic field.

A charge moving through a magnetic field experiences a force. This force is directly perpendicular to both the velocity(v) and the magnetic field(B) (F=qvBsintheta) If you point your thumb in the direction of the moving +charge (I) and point your fingers in the direction of the mag. field; the palm will point in the direction of the force. This force is ALWAYS perpend. to velocity (it does no work w=Fdcostheta)

I hope this helps!

 

[DrChandy]

I get confused on which direction the mag field is supposed to point. Lets say current travels to the right. Does the magnetic field point out or into the screen? I see it as both b/c it depends on how far you can curl your fingers!?

Also whats the rule that includes your palm?

http://www.physics.brocku.ca/faculty/sternin/120/slides/rh-rule.html

 

[Hurricane95]

Remember moving charges both produce their own magnetic field as well as experience a force by another field that's in the area. What you are referring to at first is the production of a field by a current. If it looks like the field is coming out of the page in one part and in in the other part it's because it is. The magnetic field produced is actually a radial field (it's ring-shaped) around the wire so if you have a wire with current going right on your paper curl your fingers around with your right hand and you will see that above the wire the field is coming out and below the wire the field goes in. If you turn the wire and make it so that the current is coming head on right at you, the field produced is a ring and the direction is counter-clockwise. Otherwise the stuff mentioned by the other guys here is right on the money....look at your text for pictures and examples applying it.

 

[totalcommand]

I get confused on which direction the mag field is supposed to point. Lets say current travels to the right. Does the magnetic field point out or into the screen? I see it as both b/c it depends on how far you can curl your fingers!?

Also whats the rule that includes your palm?

Yes you are right, it is both.
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