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Imagine that I use a long wire to create an electromagnet. Let's also assume that the current flowing along the wire is constant, and that the wire is winded on the vacuumm.

Is the magnetic field generated by this electromagnet (current flowing over an arbitrary path on a finite volume) proportional to the current?

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  • $\begingroup$ Don't know if the questions needs to be downvoted twice (i didn't), though it lacks some initiative. I'm sure you can find out the answer by opening a(ny) book on electrodynamics (e.g. Jackson). If the derivations are unclear to you, please come back and describe what exactly gives you difficulties. $\endgroup$
    – Nephente
    Commented Jun 30, 2014 at 7:45

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The answer is positive. This is due to the fact that the equations describing how currents generate the field are linear. The solution is obtained by a suitable inverse of the linear operator associating currents to fields. It is fundamental to observe that this inverse operator is linear because the boundary conditions satisfy the superposition principle (this is not obvious but it is true in this case where the boundary conditions are those in the vacuum). Therefore there is a relation like this $$\vec{B}(\vec{x}) = L_{\vec {x}} I$$ where $L_{\vec {x}}$ is a linear operator depending on the point $\vec{x}$ where the filed is evaluated and $I$ the constant current generating the field. You see that if $I$ is replaced by $cI$ the field becomes $c\vec{B}(\vec{x})$ for every constant $c\in \mathbb R$.

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