Experimenting with Magnetic Fields and Electric Currents

[bigmack]

I know that when you cut magnetic field lines with a wire you get an electric current.

I know that if the left side of your screen was a magnet with its south side facing the north side of an other magnet which is the right side of your screen, and a wire coming in from the top of your screen cut the magnetic field created between the two magnets would have the current going into your screen.
(sorry if that's confusing, basically I know about the rigt hand rule)

What I want to know is, if you had the wire connected to something else, like maybe an iron fork, would the current flow to the iron fork?

 

[Bob S]

If both ends of the wire were connected to opposite ends of the fork, then a current would flow through the fork. There is no current if the wire is not connected to anything.
Bob S

 

[bigmack]

So I'd have to connect both ends of the wire cutting the field to the fork.

Ok, then. Different scenario, say, I have two magnets, with opposite poles facing each other, and then I take a wire and connect both its ends to a capacitor and then move parts of the wire between the magnets.
Will the capacitor capacitate the electricity and then let me use it later on to do something like power up my wii-mote?

 

[pgardn]

So I'd have to connect both ends of the wire cutting the field to the fork.

Ok, then. Different scenario, say, I have two magnets, with opposite poles facing each other, and then I take a wire and connect both its ends to a capacitor and then move parts of the wire between the magnets.
Will the capacitor capacitate the electricity and then let me use it later on to do something like power up my wii-mote?

Yes it will as long as you move the wire in one direction and not back again.

But...
You have no idea how much charge the capacitor will "take on" store even if the capacitor has specifications. And capacitors usually discharge rather abruptly unlike batteries. So using this to "power up" something... I would not count on doing anything useful with this.

 

[bigmack]

Ok, I think I get it.

But how would you know which side is positive and which side is negative? How would I connect it to the capacitor? I realize, there's no point in doing this, its just something that I'm interested in.

Oh and, around how much electricity would moving the wire across the field generate?
Any substantial amount?
Is there any way I can increase the amount of current produced in a single swipe through the fields?


oh and are current and electricity the same thing?

 

[bigmack]

*BUMP*
I'd appreciate it if someone could help, this things killing me. oh and thanks Bob and Pgardn [ ^o), "Pgardn"? ]