The Biot-Savart law is named after two French scientists, Jean-Baptiste Biot and Felix Savart, who discovered it in 1820. The Biot-Savart law is an electromagnetic formula that calculates the magnetic field created by an electric wire. Because a magnetic field is a spinning force (like the earth spinning around the sun, or the electron spinning around the nucleus in an atom), the Biot-Savart formula is useful not only in electromagnetics, but also in aerodynamics, for the analysis of vortexes.
From other posts on electromagnetics (Ampere’s Force Law) and experiments (How to Make a Magnet), we know that an electrical current creates a magnetic field around the wire through which it flows. While the electrical current moves in a straight line through a wire, the magnetic field is spinning around it.
The Biot-Savart law is used to calculate the magnetic field at a particular point, taking into account the following factors:
1. the strength of the electric current.
2. the direction of the electric current.
3. the length of the wire through which the current runs.
4. the distance of the electric current from the point within the magnetic field.
If you are a real maven of physics, check out this video, which explains in detail how the Bio-Savart law works:
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