In the context of magnetic fields generated by wires, we study the connection between the topology of the wire and the topology of the magnetic lines. We show that a generic knotted wire has a magnetic line of the same knot type, but that given any pair of knots there is a wire isotopic to the first knot having a magnetic line isotopic to the second. These questions can be traced back to Ulam in 1935.
Categories: math.DS math-ph math.CA math.MP