alleryStart learning →The magnetic force acts on charges drifting inside a wire, yet the whole wire is pushed sideways. Why?
AThe wire is pulled by its own field
BCharges cannot escape the conductor
CCharges leave and drag the wire along
DThe field grips the metal ions directly
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Charges cannot escape the conductor
1. The magnetic force acts directly on each moving charge carrier, not on the metal as a whole.
2. Those carriers are confined inside the conductor and ordinarily cannot escape it.
3. Pushing on charges that cannot leave means the push is transmitted to the conductor itself.
4. Since a typical current involves very large numbers of carriers, the total force is easily large enough to move the wire.
5. If charges could leave the wire, they would carry the momentum away instead of moving the wire.
6. The field acts only on moving charge, so it does not grip the stationary ions on its own.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 22 "Magnetism", section 22.7 Magnetic Force on a Current-Carrying Conductor_
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