Biot-Savart law: Quick Facts

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Photos

Diagram showing a circular loop of wire with an electric current, surrounded by curved blue lines representing magnetic field lines that loop around the wire and pass through its center.

Diagram showing a segment of wire carrying electric current, with labeled axes and arrows indicating the direction and magnitude of the magnetic field at various points around the wire. The wire runs horizontally, and magnetic field vectors are shown at numbered positions, illustrating how the field varies with distance and orientation.

Two diagrams show the magnetic field around a long straight wire carrying current. Panel A presents an end view with concentric circular field lines around the wire, current flowing toward the viewer. Panel B shows a three-dimensional view with the wire angled across the image and circular magnetic field lines surrounding it.

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Topics

saccharimetry electromagnetic induction Ampère’s law Faraday’s law of induction Lenz’s law displacement current induction heating eddy current

Key People

Biot

Jean-Baptiste Biot

French physicist

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