Name: parallel currents and the pinch effect
Uploaded: 2026-07-09T14:39:55.356Z
Duration: 1 min 13 s
Channel: JoVE

K12 Standards

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NC K-12 Science Standard Course of Study

9-12

Physical Science

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Motion and Stability- Forces and Interactions

PS.PSc.6.4

magnetic-force-between-two-parallel-currents

Magnetic Force Between Two Parallel Currents

Consider two infinitely long, parallel conductors carrying current in the same direction.
The force exerted by the magnetic field due to the first conductor, over a finite length of the second conductor, is given by the current multiplied by the vector product of the length vector and the field due to the first conductor.
The magnetic field is perpendicular to the length vector. Substituting the expression for magnetic field, the magnitude of the force on the second conductor is obtained.
According to the right-hand rule for the cross-product, the force on the second conductor points toward the first conductor.
Similarly, it can be shown that the field due to the second conductor exerts an equal magnitude of the force on the first conductor. However, the direction of this force is toward the second conductor.
Thus, for current flowing in the same direction, the magnetic field created around each conductor exerts an attractive force on the other.
If the current direction is reversed in either one of the conductors, there would be a repulsive force between the conductors.

magnetic force between two parallel currents

Two long, straight, and parallel current-carrying conductors exert a force of equal magnitude on one another. The direction of the force depends on the current direction in the conductors.
The force exerted by the magnetic field due to the first conductor over a finite length of the second conductor is given as the product of the current in the second conductor and&#xA0; the vector product of the length vector along the current element and the field due to the first conductor. According to the right-hand rule for the cross-product, the force on the second conductor is directed towards the first conductor. Similarly, the field due to the second conductor exerts an equal magnitude of force on the first conductor and is directed towards the second conductor. Thus the forces are attractive when the current in the both the conductors flow in the same direction. Reversing the direction of current in any one of the conductors makes the force repulsive.
Since the wires are very long, the force is often expressed in terms of the force per unit length, which forms the basis for the definition of the unit &#x27;Ampere&#x27; for the current. Quantitatively, one Ampere is the amount of current present in each of the two parallel conductors of an infinite length separated by one meter in empty space, which causes each conductor to experience a force of exactly 1 N/m.
This force is responsible for the pinch effect in electric arcs and other plasmas. The force is apparent if the overall charge density is zero; otherwise, the Coulomb repulsion overwhelms the magnetic attraction. An attractive force squeezes currents into a smaller tube in an electric arc, where charges are moving parallel to one another. In large circuit breakers, such as those used in neighbourhood power distribution systems, the pinch effect can concentrate an arc between plates of a switch trying to break a large current, burn holes, and even ignite the equipment. Another example of the pinch effect is found in solar plasma, where jets of ionized material, such as solar flares, are shaped by magnetic forces.

Two long, straight, and parallel current-carrying conductors exert a force of equal magnitude on one another. The direction of the force depends on the ...

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Education

JoVE Core

Physics

Unit 1

Sources of Magnetic Fields

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

parallel currents and the pinch effect

Parallel current-carrying wires can pull on each other with a magnetic force. The force has the same size on both conductors. Its direction depends on whether the currents flow in the same direction or in opposite directions.

The magnetic field from one long, straight wire acts on a finite length of the other wire. The force on that wire comes from the product of its current and the cross product of its length vector with the field. Using the right-hand rule, the second conductor is pulled toward the first. The first conductor experiences an equal force toward the second.

When both currents move in the same direction, the wires attract each other. If the current in either wire is reversed, the force becomes repulsive. Because the wires are very long, the force is often written as force per unit length. This idea is part of the definition of the ampere.

One ampere is the current in each of two infinite parallel conductors separated by one meter in empty space when each wire feels a force of exactly 1 N/m. This magnetic interaction is also linked to the pinch effect in electric arcs and other plasmas. The effect becomes clear when the overall charge density is zero, since otherwise Coulomb repulsion is stronger than the magnetic attraction. The attractive force can squeeze current into a smaller tube in an electric arc, where charges move parallel to one another.

The pinch effect can matter in large circuit breakers used in neighborhood power distribution systems. There, an arc may concentrate between the plates of a switch that is trying to stop a large current. That concentrated arc can burn holes and even ignite the equipment. A similar effect appears in solar plasma, where jets of ionized material, including solar flares, are shaped by magnetic forces.

Parallel Currents and the Pinch Effect

biot-savart law

Magnetic Field from a Current Element

The Biot-Savart law links a current-carrying wire to the magnetic field it creates. It gives both the magnitude and the direction of that field. The law is named for Jean-Baptiste Biot and Félix Savart, who studied how a straight wire carrying current interacts with a permanent magnet. A current-carrying wire produces a magnetic field around it. To describe the field from a tiny section of wire, we use an infinitesimal current element, dl. The direction of dl follows the direction of the...

biot-savart law: problem-solving

Calculating Magnetic Fields with Biot-Savart

The Biot-Savart law is used to calculate the magnetic field made by a steady current. A mobile phone battery bank and the wire between the two can be used as an example of that current. At a field point P, the goal is to find the magnitude of the magnetic field created by the current in the wire. The first step is to look at a small current element of length dl. This element is at a distance r from the field point. The known values are the current, the length of the current element, the...

magnetic field due to moving charges

Magnetic Fields from Charges in Motion

A moving charge creates a magnetic field. For a point charge moving at constant velocity, the field at any point depends on the charge and the distance from the source point to the field point. It is directly proportional to the charge magnitude and inversely proportional to the square of that distance. The magnetic field also has a direction. Unlike the electric field, it is always perpendicular to the plane formed by the line from the source to the field point. Its strength depends on the...

magnetic field due to two straight wires

Net Magnetic Field at the Midpoint of Two Wires

Two parallel straight wires can create a net magnetic field at the point halfway between them. In this example, the wires carry currents of 10 A and 20 A and are separated by 20 cm. The midpoint, labeled P2, is 10 cm from each wire. The magnetic field lines around each wire form counterclockwise concentric circles. At the midpoint, the field from one wire can point in the opposite direction from the field from the other wire. The net magnetic field is found by magnetic field superposition,...

Parallel current-carrying wires can pull on each other with a magnetic force. The force has the same size on both conductors. Its direction depends on whether the currents flow in the same direction or in opposite directions. The magnetic field from one long, straight wire acts on a finite length of the other wire. The force on that wire comes from the product of its current and the cross product of its length vector with the field. Using the right-hand rule, the second conductor is pulled...

magnetic field of a current loop

Field Along the Axis of a Current Loop

A circular current loop creates a magnetic field along its axis. For a loop of radius a carrying current I, the field at a point P can be found with the Biot-Savart law. The point P lies a distance x from the center of the loop. The field from a tiny current element dl points at an angle θ. At every point on the loop, the current element and the unit vector toward P are perpendicular. Using that relationship and writing r in terms of x and a gives the size of the field from each element. The...

divergence and curl of magnetic field

Magnetic Field Loops and Ampere's Law

Magnetic field loops and Ampere's law describe how magnetic fields behave around current. For a volume current distribution, the magnetic field can be written using the Biot–Savart law. The divergence and curl of that field can then be found with vector analysis. To find the divergence, the divergence operator is applied to both sides of the Biot–Savart equation. After using the vector product rule, the integrand simplifies. The term with the curl of the current density becomes zero because...

ampere's law

Magnetic Circulation Around a Current

Magnetic circulation around a current is described by Ampère’s law. A static magnetic field is not conservative, unlike an electrostatic field. Instead, the magnetic field is linked to electric current, which is its source. Ampère’s law uses the line integral of the magnetic field around a closed path. This integral is proportional to the current enclosed by the loop. The law applies only when currents are steady and when no magnetic materials or time-varying electric fields are present. The...

ampere's law: problem-solving

Choosing an Amperian Loop for Magnetic Fields

Ampere's law connects a closed loop path with the current enclosed by that loop. The line integral of the magnetic field around the path equals the vacuum permeability times the enclosed current. A right-hand rule helps set the sign of the current. If the fingers curl with the integration path, the thumb gives positive current. Current opposite the thumb direction is negative. Solving magnetic field problems with Ampere's law starts by checking symmetry in the current distribution. If the...

solenoids

Solenoids as Controllable Electromagnets

A solenoid is a tightly wound coil of insulated conducting wire. It acts as an electromagnet, and its magnetic field comes from the combined field of each turn in the coil. In an ideal solenoid, the magnetic field inside is almost uniform and points along the solenoid axis. The magnetic field outside is nearly zero. Each turn can be treated as a circular current-carrying loop, and each loop creates a magnetic dipole moment. The dipole moment from one turn equals the current multiplied by the...

magnetic field of a solenoid

Solenoid Field Strength Example

A solenoid is a conducting wire coated with an insulating material and wound tightly into a helical coil. Its magnetic field comes from the vector sum of the fields from each turn. For an ideal solenoid, the field inside depends directly on the number of turns per unit length and the current. The magnetic field outside an ideal solenoid is zero. In this example, a solenoid has 100 turns wrapped around a cylinder that is 1 cm in diameter and 10 cm long. A current of 0.5 A is passed through the...

toroids

Toroid Magnetic Fields and Turn Count

A toroid is a donut-shaped coil made from a single conducting wire. It usually has many circular loops that sit perpendicular to its axis. When current flows through it, the magnetic field forms circular lines around the axis. The right-hand rule shows the field direction: curl the fingers of your right hand with the current, and your thumb points in the magnetic field direction. Inside a toroid, the magnetic field changes with distance from the axis. It varies inversely with that distance.

magnetic vector potential

Solenoid Vector Potential Explained

The magnetic vector potential can be used to describe the magnetic field inside an ideal solenoid. In magnetostatics, the magnetic field has zero divergence, so it can be written as the curl of a vector potential. This idea connects the magnetic field to a potential in the same way that electrostatics connects the electric field to an electric potential. For an ideal solenoid, the magnetic field inside is given by the vacuum permeability, the number of turns per unit length, and the current.

potential due to a magnetized object

Magnetization and Bound Currents

Magnetization describes how a magnetic material responds to an external magnetic field. In paramagnets and ferromagnets, magnetic dipoles align with the field. In diamagnets, the dipoles align opposite to the field. Magnetization is the dipole moment per unit volume, and it plays a role similar to polarization in electrostatics. The magnetic vector potential of a magnetized material can be written in terms of its aligned dipoles. This form is simplified with vector analysis. One term...

magnetostatic boundary conditions

Magnetic Fields at Material Interfaces

Magnetic fields change at the boundary between two magnetic materials, and the change depends on the surface conditions at the interface. A magnetic field can be discontinuous at a surface current, just as an electric field can change across a surface charge. The component of the magnetic field that points perpendicular to the boundary stays continuous. The component parallel to the boundary behaves differently. It becomes discontinuous by an amount equal to the vacuum permeability times the...

ampere's law in matter

Free Current and Magnetization in Ampere’s Law

Ampere’s law in matter links magnetic fields to the free current in a magnetized material. In such materials, the total current density has two parts. These are the free current density and the bound current density. The free current comes from the motion of free electrons inside the material. The bound current comes from the alignment of magnetic dipole moments. In vacuum, the differential form of Ampere’s law says that the curl of the magnetic field equals permeability times current density.

magnetic susceptibility and permeability

How Materials Respond to Magnetic Fields

Magnetic susceptibility and permeability describe how materials respond to a magnetic field. In linear magnetic materials, magnetization is proportional to the magnetic field intensity. The proportionality constant is magnetic susceptibility, which is a dimensionless number. The value of susceptibility depends on the material. Diamagnetic materials develop moments opposite to the applied field. Their susceptibility is slightly negative, usually about 10^-5 to 10^-6. This effect comes from the...

magnetic moment of an electron

Electron Spin and Bohr Magneton

Electrons create magnetic effects through both orbital motion and spin. When an electron moves around a nucleus, it acts like a tiny current loop. That current produces a magnetic dipole moment that is proportional to the electron's orbital angular momentum. The orbital angular momentum is quantized in units of the reduced Planck's constant. Because of that, the magnetic dipole moment is also quantized in the Bohr magneton. The Bohr magneton has a value of 9.27 x 10 -24 Am 2. Electrons also...

diamagnetism

Diamagnetism and Magnetic Repulsion

Diamagnetism is the magnetic response of materials that are repelled by an external magnetic field. These materials contain paired electrons, so they have no net magnetic moment at first. When a magnetic field is applied, moments opposite to the field are induced. Anton Brugmans discovered this effect in 1778 after observing that bismuth is repelled by magnetic fields. He used this observation to suggest that diamagnets are pushed away from magnets. In a non-uniform magnetic field, diamagnets...

paramagnetism

Paramagnetism and Magnetic Alignment

Paramagnetism and magnetic alignment explain how some materials respond to an outside magnetic field. Paramagnets contain unpaired electrons, so they have a finite magnetic moment. When no magnetic field is present, these moments point in random directions, and the net moment is zero. When an external field is applied, a torque acts on the magnetic moments and pulls them toward the field direction. At the same time, thermal motion of the electrons creates a competing torque that tries to...

ferromagnetism

Magnetic Domains and Hysteresis

Ferromagnetic materials like iron, nickel, and cobalt contain magnetic domains. Inside each domain, magnetic dipoles line up in the same direction. Quantum mechanical coupling keeps this alignment strong, so room-temperature thermal motion usually cannot break it. As a result, each domain has a net dipole moment. Some materials have weaker coupling and become ferromagnetic only at lower temperatures. When an external magnetic field is applied, the dipoles rotate to match the field. At the same...

key terms and concepts

Learn how parallel currents attract or repel, how this force defines the ampere, and how the pinch effect shapes electric arcs, circuit breakers, and solar plasma.

Parallel Currents and the Pinch Effect | JoVE K12

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Virginia  Standards of Learning

HIgh School

PS.9

PS.9.d

PH.7

PH.7.a

PH.7.b

new-york-state-science-learning-standards

New York State Science Learning Standards

High School

HS. Energy

HS-PS3-5.

Position and Displacement

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Average Velocity

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Instantaneous Velocity - I

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Instantaneous Velocity - II

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Average Acceleration

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Instantaneous Acceleration

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Position and Displacement Vectors

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Average and Instantaneous Velocity Vectors

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Acceleration Vectors

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Direction of Acceleration Vectors

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Linear Momentum

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Analyze and interpret data to explain the motion of an object moving with a constant velocity or that is accelerating.

PS.PSc.4.1

Electrical Current

Electrical current is defined as the rate at which charge flows. When there is a large current present, such as that used to run a refrigerator, a large ...

Drift Velocity

The high speed of electrical signals results from the fact that the force between charges acts rapidly at a distance. Thus, when a free charge is forced ...

Current Density

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Resistivity

When a voltage is applied to a conductor, an electrical field is generated, and charges in the conductor feel the force due to the electrical field. The ...

Resistance

When a current moves through any conductor, the conductor causes some level of difficulty for the current to flow. The measure of that difficulty is known ...

Ohm's Law

Many materials exhibit a simple relationship between the values of current, voltage, and resistance, known as Ohm&#8217;s law. The current that flows ...

Non-ohmic Devices

In most substances, the current flow is proportional to the voltage applied to it. A simple relationship between the values of current, voltage, and ...

Construct an explanation to compare simple series and parallel circuits in terms of Ohm's Law.

PS.PSc.6.2

Continuity Equation

The total amount of current flowing per unit cross-sectional area is called the current density. Hence, the current passing through a cross-sectional area ...

Boundary Conditions for Current Density

Current density becomes discontinuous across an interface of materials with different electrical conductivities. The normal component of the current ...

Electrical Conductivity

In perfect conductors, the electric field inside is always zero due to the abundance of free electrons, which nullify any field by flowing. As a result, ...

Theory of Metallic Conduction

The conduction of free electrons inside a conductor is best described by quantum mechanics. However, a classical model makes predictions close to the ...

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain how current is affected by changes in composition, length, temperature, and diameter of wire.

PS.PSc.6.3

Magnetism

Magnets are commonly found in everyday objects, such as toys, hangers, elevators, doorbells, and computer devices. Experimentation on these magnets shows ...

Magnetic Fields

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Magnetic Field Lines

The representation of magnetic fields by magnetic field lines is very useful in visualizing the strength and direction of the magnetic field. Each of the ...

Magnetic Flux

The magnetic flux measures the number of magnetic field lines passing through a given surface area. The SI unit for magnetic flux is the weber (Wb). ...

motion-of-a-charged-particle-in-a-magnetic-field

Motion Of A Charged Particle In A Magnetic Field

A charged particle experiences a force when moving through a magnetic field. Consider the field to be uniform and the charged particle to move ...

Magnetic Force

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magnetic-force-on-a-current-carrying-conductor

Magnetic Force On A Current-Carrying Conductor

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magnetic-force-on-current-carrying-wires-example

Magnetic Force On Current-Carrying Wires: Example

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force-on-a-current-loop-in-a-magnetic-field

Force On A Current Loop In A Magnetic Field

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torque-on-a-current-loop-in-a-magnetic-field

Torque On A Current Loop In A Magnetic Field

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Biot-Savart Law

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Biot-Savart Law: Problem-Solving

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Consider a mobile phone battery ...

Magnetic Field Due to Two Straight Wires

Consider two parallel straight wires carrying a current of 10 A and 20 A in the same direction and separated by a distance of 20 cm. Calculate the ...

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Consider a circular loop with a radius a, that carries a current I. The magnetic field due to the current at an arbitrary point P along the axis of the ...

Divergence and Curl of Magnetic Field

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To evaluate the divergence of the ...

Ampere's Law

A fundamental property of a static magnetic field is that it is not conservative, unlike an electrostatic field. Instead, there is a relationship between ...

Ampere's Law: Problem-Solving

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Solenoids

A solenoid is a conducting wire coated with an insulating material, wound tightly in the form of a helical coil. The magnetic field for a solenoid is the ...

Magnetic Field of a Solenoid

A solenoid is a conducting wire coated with an insulating material, wound tightly in the form of a helical coil. The magnetic field due to a solenoid is ...

Use models to explain magnetism in terms of domains, interactions of poles, and magnetic fields.

Analyze motion in terms of speed, velocity, acceleration, and momentum.

Parallel Currents and the Pinch Effect

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