Authors: Peter W. Schuck (NASA/GSFC)

Currents are a much maligned observable in solar physics. There are many advantages to understanding solar phenomena through the evolution of magnetic fields. Magnetic fields are indirectly inferred from solar spectra. In ideal plasmas the magnetic field is “frozen in” to the flow. Magnetic structure
shares mathematical tools with the well developed field of knot theory. Magnetic reconnection forms our basis for understanding energy release in solar eruptions. Nonetheless, this solar magnetic field that has demanded our attention for 115 years is a nonlocal force. Its nonlocal origin combined with the simultaneity of Maxwell’s equations muddles the cause and effect leading to confusion in electromagnetism and plasma physics. We discuss the fundamental origin of magnetic fields in currents and how this demands that we change our intuition. We present examples of how the magnetic field picture goes sideways and how the magnetic field’s origin in currents can be used to disentangle the magnetic field in observations, theory, and simulation.