A rule that relates the direction of the electric current passing through a conductor and the magnetic field associated with it. The rule states that if the electric current is moving away from an observer, the direction of the lines of force of the magnetic field surrounding the conductor is clockwise and that if the electric current is moving towards an observer, the direction of the lines of force is counter-clockwise. An equivalent statement to Ampère’s rule is known as the corkscrew rule. A corkscrew, or screwdriver, is said to be right-handed if turning the corkscrew in a clockwise direction drives the screw into the object (such as the cork of a bottle). The corkscrew rule states that a right-handed corkscrew is analogous to an electric current and its magnetic field with the direction of the screw being analogous to electric current; the direction in which the corkscrew is being turned is analogous to the direction of lines of force of the field.