what is the shape of a magnetic field?

Answer 1

With nothing to shunt or alter the field, its toroidal

Answer 2

depends on the shape of the magnet. however, common element is that all magnetic field lines of a magnet go from the north pole to the south pole. generally you can draw them by guesstimating arc like shapes from N to S in magnets. It's perpendicular to the current if you have a wire with a moving current.

Answer 3

It depends on what's causing it. The field always closes on itself but it's different depending if its caused by a horseshoe or bar magnet, the earth or an electromagnetic wave.

Answer 4

Its hard to describe its shape, here is a website to show a picture of the field. It can be distorted by a number of things however.

Answer 5

Depends on what is creating the field. If you have a bar magnet, the field comes up out of the positve (north pole) and loops around to go back into the negative (south) pole.

Here's a picture: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.physics.udel.edu/~watson/phys208/images/tip24-8a.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.physics.udel.edu/~watson/phys208/tip24-8.html&h=206&w=260&sz=14&hl=en&start=5&um=1&tbnid=0iFiZq2Za6d1eM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=112&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbar%2Bmagnet%2Bfield%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN