How does winding a metal wire into a coil create magnetic flux?

[Mr_Bojingles]

I was reading there that if you wind a piece of metal wire into a coil it creates a magnetic field. Does this wire have to have current running through it? I know that a changing electric current creates a magnetic field but how does winding a piece of metal wire into a coil create magnetic flux?

 

[ice109]

I was reading there that if you wind a piece of metal wire into a coil it creates a magnetic field. Does this wire have to have current running through it? I know that a changing electric current creates a magnetic field but how does winding a piece of metal wire into a coil create magnetic flux?

it doesn't create flux perse. if you have a closed loop of wire you have a surface through which the Earth's magnetic field creates a flux. flux is the penetration of a field through a closed surface so maybe that's what the book means.

and it's not a changing electric current that creates a magnetic field, just a regular current creates a magnetic field. a changing magnetic field creates a current.

 

[ravenprp]

Yes, the wire does need to have current running through it in order to create a magnetic field. This is because the movement of electrons (current) is what generates the magnetic field. As you mentioned, a changing electric current creates a magnetic field. When a wire is wound into a coil, it increases the amount of current flowing through the wire, which in turn increases the strength of the magnetic field. This is known as electromagnetic induction, where the changing magnetic field created by the current flowing through the wire induces a magnetic field in the surrounding space. This results in the creation of magnetic flux, which is the measure of the strength of the magnetic field passing through a given area. So, by winding a piece of metal wire into a coil, you are essentially amplifying the magnetic field and increasing the magnetic flux.