Magnetic Field

All magnetic fields are created by moving electric charge. The single moving electron around a nucleus is a tiny electric current. These orbiting electrons create magnetic fields and their net effect is to provide the atom with a magnetic field. Magnetic fields are historically described in terms of their effect on electric charges. A moving electric charge, such as an electron, will accelerate in the presence of a magnetic field, causing it to change velocity and its direction of travel. An electrically charged particle moving in a magnetic field will experience a force (known as the Lorentz force) pushing it in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic field and the direction of motion. Also called magnetic flux.