A student investigates the magnetic field around a horizontal wire carrying a current on a table.
As shown in the diagram, the wire is aligned along a West–East line, and a strong current I I\,I flows through it from West to East. A small plotting compass is supported on a stand directly above the wire.
Assuming the magnetic field generated by the wire is much stronger than the Earth's magnetic field at this location, in which direction does the North pole of the compass needle point when the current is flowing?
North
East
South
West