eli5: why do we use coils to generate a magnetic field? why does adding more coils increase the magnetic field strength better than other shapes?

Question

Why a coil shape basically, why not some other shape, why is a coil more advantageous?

In: 13

Answer 1

The magnetic field generated by a current is perpendicular to the wire. If the wire is straight, you’ll have some intensity of the field at a given point in space. If you coil the wire around the same point, though, the same wire will generate a much stronger field at that point, because the field generated by each tiny piece of wire will overlap.