Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Can a current-carrying wire produce a force along its own length? In this video I look at the experimental evidence for Ampère’s forgotten longitudinal force, a force modern electromagnetism largely removed from the basic picture of magnetism.
Ampère’s original electrodynamics predicted that electric currents could create mechanical stress along the direction of current flow. Later, the field-based Lorentz force picture kept the sideways magnetic force, but dismissed any force acting along the current itself.
And yet the same strange pattern keeps appearing: Ampère’s mercury bridge, exploding wires, railgun recoil, and now Neal Graneau’s direct measurement of a possible longitudinal electromagnetic force in a straight wire carrying DC current.
The question is not whether modern electrodynamics works in ordinary cases. It does. The question is whether the field picture has hidden part of the mechanical interaction inside current-carrying conductors.
This video explores Ampère’s force law, Grassmann’s force law, magnetic fields, Lorentz force, longitudinal electromagnetic force, exploding wires, railgun recoil, and the experimental search for a force that physics may have erased.
If you have not seen the earlier parts of the series, they help set up the full argument:
youtu.be/h9U8xrhuN-k
youtu.be/r8PccFJ9eXo
youtu.be/kw-kPE7FHPc
youtu.be/rJ7IgJCbUU8
💖 Support This Channel:
Your support is crucial in order to continue making quality content.
Patreon: patreon.com/seethepattern
ko-fi: ko-fi.com/seethepattern
PayPal: paypal.me/seethepattern
Merch: shop.spreadshirt.co.uk/see-the-pattern
📚 References:
All references used in this video are documented on my website:
seethepattern.org/stp.html?v=20260516-long
It serves as a living archive — with detailed source notes, direct links, and a searchable index of videos if you want to explore specific ideas or follow a thread across episodes.
00:00 Introduction
01:38 Bridge Experiment
04:06 Exploding Wires
05:38 Railguns
07:14 Beyond Railguns
08:08 The Quiet Experiment
10:40 Closing the Arc
Can a current-carrying wire produce a force along its own length? In this video I look at the experimental evidence for Ampère’s forgotten longitudinal force, a force modern electromagnetism largely removed from the basic picture of magnetism.
Ampère’s original electrodynamics predicted that electric currents could create mechanical stress along the direction of current flow. Later, the field-based Lorentz force picture kept the sideways magnetic force, but dismissed any force acting along the current itself.
And yet the same strange pattern keeps appearing: Ampère’s mercury bridge, exploding wires, railgun recoil, and now Neal Graneau’s direct measurement of a possible longitudinal electromagnetic force in a straight wire carrying DC current.
The question is not whether modern electrodynamics works in ordinary cases. It does. The question is whether the field picture has hidden part of the mechanical interaction inside current-carrying conductors.
This video explores Ampère’s force law, Grassmann’s force law, magnetic fields, Lorentz force, longitudinal electromagnetic force, exploding wires, railgun recoil, and the experimental search for a force that physics may have erased.
If you have not seen the earlier parts of the series, they help set up the full argument:
youtu.be/h9U8xrhuN-k
youtu.be/r8PccFJ9eXo
youtu.be/kw-kPE7FHPc
youtu.be/rJ7IgJCbUU8
💖 Support This Channel:
Your support is crucial in order to continue making quality content.
Patreon: patreon.com/seethepattern
ko-fi: ko-fi.com/seethepattern
PayPal: paypal.me/seethepattern
Merch: shop.spreadshirt.co.uk/see-the-pattern
📚 References:
All references used in this video are documented on my website:
seethepattern.org/stp.html?v=20260516-long
It serves as a living archive — with detailed source notes, direct links, and a searchable index of videos if you want to explore specific ideas or follow a thread across episodes.
00:00 Introduction
01:38 Bridge Experiment
04:06 Exploding Wires
05:38 Railguns
07:14 Beyond Railguns
08:08 The Quiet Experiment
10:40 Closing the Arc
