Oersted discovered that an external magnetic needle places itself perpendicular to an electric current; and we should expect that, if the molecules of an iron wire possessed inherent polarity and could rotate, a similar effect would take place in the interior of the wire to that observed by Oersted. Wiedermann first remarked this effect, and it has been known as circular magnetism. This circle, however, consists really in each molecule having placed itself perpendicular to the current, simply obeying Oersted's law, and thus forming a complete circle in which the mutual attractions of the molecules forming that circle are satisfied. This wire becomes completely neutral, any previous symmetrical arrangement of polarity rotating to form its complete circle of attractions; and we can thus form in hard iron and steel a neutrality extremely difficult to break up or destroy. We have evident proof that this neutrality consists of a closed chain, or circle, as by torsion we can partially deflect them on either side; thus from a perfect externally neutral wire, producing either polarity, by simple mechanical angular displacement of the molecules, as by right or left handed torsion.

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