Acurrent‑carrying wire lies in a region where there is an external magnetic field, but there is no magnetic force acting on the wire. how can this be? the wire itself is moving in the direction of the magnetic field at just the right speed. the magnetic field is generated by a second wire carrying a current in the opposite direction. the wire is a circular loop whose plane is oriented parallel to the magnetic field. the current is carried by equal numbers of positive and negative charges that flow in opposite directions along the wire. the length of the wire is oriented either parallel or antiparallel to the magnetic field lines at the location of the wire.