Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism

H. C. Oersted, First off all, discovered that electricity and magnetism are related to each other. In the year 1820 Oersted realised that electricity and magnetism were intimately related. He shows that the electric current through a straight wire causes noticeable deflection of the magnetic compass needle held near the wire. He found in his experiment that electric current produces magnetic fields around it. During an experiment with an electric circuit, he observed that when he switched on the battery a compass needle placed nearby deflects.  He concluded that when switch becomes on charges start flowing in the circuit and these moving charges produce a magnetic Effect in its surrounding.

Thus, moving charges are the source of magnetic field. And this conclusion gave the concept of magnetic effects of Electric Current.

We can get the fact that the static charges produce electric field and the moving charges produce magnetic field. An electric current in a conductor is due to the charges (or electrons ) in motion. Such charges produce magnetic interaction. The magnetic field produced due to the current through the conductor interacts with the magnetic needle and deflects it. This branch of Physics which generally deals with the magnetic effect of electric current is known as electromagnetism.

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• Moving Charges And Magnetism
• Magnetism and Matter

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Electrostatics

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