Question1
In the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in Brookhaven, NY, physicists are attempt to rebuild the conditions of the Big Bang by colliding extremely massive, highly-charged ions together. In this collider, gold atoms (atomic number 79) are accelerated until all electrons have been stripped from nucleus, thereby producing a particle with a charge of +79e. These nuclei are accelerated to a major fraction of the speed of light, until ultimately one gold nucleus is passing through the collider every thousandth of a second. What is current flowing through the collider?
Question2
A long straight wire 1 lies along x-axis. A long straight wire 2 lies along the y-axis so as to pass very near, but not quite touch wire 1 at the origin. After viewed from above, two wires form a cross.
If both wires are free to move, what happens when currents are sent at the same time in the +x direction through wire 1 and in the +y direction through wire 2? Note that “clockwise around origin” refers to an observer looking down on a xy plane in which +x is to right and +y upward.