Magnetic Effect of Electric Current Vocabulary

Vocabulary and key concepts regarding the discovery and definition of the magnetic field and the magnetic effect of electric current.

Compass needle

A tiny magnet that deflects when a magnet is brought near it and indicates the presence of a magnetic field produced by a current-carrying wire.

Magnetic field

The region around a magnet or a current-carrying wire where its magnetic effect can be felt, such as by the deflection of a compass needle.

Magnetic effect of electric current

The phenomenon where electric current flowing through a conductor (like a wire) produces a magnetic field around it, which disappears when the current stops flowing.

Hans Christian Oersted

A professor and scientist ($1777$-$1851$) at a university in Denmark who discovered in $1820$ that electricity and magnetism are linked.

Discovery of Electricity and Magnetism Link

A discovery made by Hans Christian Oersted in $1820$ after noticing a compass needle deflected when electric current flowed through a nearby wire.