Right-hand rule

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The left-handed orientation is shown on the left, and the right-handed on the right.

Use of right hand.

Not to be confused with Right hand grip rule.
In mathematics and physics, the right-hand rule is a common mnemonic for understanding
notation conventions for vectors in 3 dimensions. It was invented for use in electromagnetism
by British physicist John Ambrose Fleming in the late 1800s.[1][2]
When choosing three vectors that must be at right angles to each other, there are two distinct
solutions, so when expressing this idea in mathematics, one must remove the ambiguity of
which solution is meant.
There are variations on the mnemonic depending on context, but all variations are related to
the one idea of choosing a convention.
 Contents
[hide]
• 1
Direction
associated
with an
ordered
pair of
directions
• 2
Direction
associated
with a
rotation
• 3
Applicatio
ns
• 4 Left
handednes
s
• 5
Symmetry
• 6 See also
• 7 Notes
• 8 External
links
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[edit] Direction associated with an ordered pair of directions
One form of the right-hand rule is used in situations in which an ordered operation must be
performed on two vectors a and b that has a result which is a vector c perpendicular to both a
and b. The most common example is the vector cross product. The right-hand rule imposes
the following procedure for choosing one of the two directions.

• With the thumb, index, and middle fingers at right angles to each other (with the
index finger pointed straight), the middle finger points in the direction of c when the
thumb represents a and the index finger represents b.
Other (equivalent) finger assignments are possible. For example, the first (index) finger can
represent a, the first vector in the product; the second (middle) finger, b, the second vector;
and the thumb, c, the product.[3]
[edit] Direction associated with a rotation
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Main article: right hand grip rule

Vector assigned to a rotation.

A different form of the right-hand rule is used in situations where a vector must be assigned
to the rotation of a body, a magnetic field or a fluid.[4] Alternatively, when a rotation is
specified by a vector, and it is necessary to understand the way in which the rotation occurs,
the right-hand rule is applicable.
In this form, the fingers of the right hand are curled to match the curvature and direction of
the motion or the magnetic field. The thumb indicates the direction of the vector.
[edit] Applications
The first form of the rule is used to determine the direction of the cross product of two
vectors. This leads to widespread use in physics, wherever the cross product occurs. A list of
physical quantities whose directions are related by the right-hand rule is given below. (Some
of these are related only indirectly to cross products, and use the second form.)
• The angular velocity of a rotating object and the rotational velocity of any point on the
object
• A torque, the force that causes it, and the position of the point of application of the
force
• A magnetic field, the position of the point where it is determined, and the electric
current (or change in electric flux) that causes it
• A magnetic field in a coil of wire and the electric current in the wire
• The force of a magnetic field on a charged particle, the magnetic field itself, and the
velocity of the object
• The vorticity at any point in the field of flow of a fluid
• The induced current from motion in a magnetic field (known as Fleming's right hand
 rule)
Fleming's left hand rule is a rule for finding the direction of the thrust on a conductor carrying
a current in a magnetic field.

Fleming's left hand rule

[edit] Left handedness
In certain situations, it may be useful to use the opposite convention, where one of the vectors
is reversed and so creates a left-handed triad instead of a right-handed triad.
An example of this situation is for left-handed materials. Normally, for an electromagnetic
wave, the electric and magnetic fields, and the direction of propagation of the wave obey the
right-hand rule. However, left-handed materials have special properties - the negative
refractive index. It makes the direction of propagation point in the opposite direction.
De Graaf's translation of Fleming's left-hand rule - which uses thrust, field and current - and
the right-hand rule, is the FBI rule. The FBI rule changes Thrust into F (Lorentz force), B
(direction of the magnetic field) and I (current). The FBI rule is easily remembered by US
citizens because of the commonly known abbreviation for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
[edit] Symmetry
Vector Right-Han Right-Han Right-Han Left-Hand Left-Hand Left-Hand
d d d
a, x or I Thumb Fingers or First or Thumb Fingers or First or
Palm Index Palm Index
b, y or B First or Thumb Fingers or Fingers or First or Thumb
Index Palm Palm Index
c, z or F Fingers or First or Thumb First or Thumb Fingers or
Palm Index Index Palm
[edit] See also
Wikimedia
Commons has
media related to:
Right-hand rule
• Chirality (mathematics)
• Right hand grip rule
• Curl (mathematics)
• Pseudovector
• Improper rotation
• Reflection (mathematics)
• Fleming's left hand rule
• Vorticity
• ISO 2