Learn Physics with Functional Programming

27MAGNETIC FIELD

Magnets produce magnetic fields, but so do electric currents. Since magnets are made of materials that have circular currents at a microscopic level, physicists consider electric current to be the fundamental source of magnetic fields. In this chapter, we’ll explore how magnetic fields are produced by currents. We’ll write functions to find the magnetic field for all the current distributions we looked at in the last chapter, and we’ll make pictures of the magnetic fields produced by a wire loop, an ideal magnetic dipole, a solenoid, and a toroid. But first, let’s begin with a simple example of magnetism.

A Simple Magnetic Effect ...