Practice MCAT Question - Q53 - Answer!
Two parallel conducting wires carry current in opposite directions. When the wires are viewed looking down from the top, which statement is true?
A. The two wires will attract each other because both magnetic fields are counterclockwise.
B. The two wires will repel each other because both magnetic fields are counterclockwise.
C. The two wires will attract each other because one magnetic field is clockwise while the other is counterclockwise.
D. The two wires will repel each other because one magnetic field is clockwise while the other is counterclockwise.
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The correct answer is (D). Use the right-hand rule on each wire. Looking down each wire from top to bottom, the concentric circles of each magnetic field are going in opposite directions. Therefore, the direction of the fields in the space between the wires points in the same direction.
