Final answer:
Using an orienteering compass to locate a wire via the magnetic field is impractical due to potential interference and the relatively weak magnetic field produced by electrical wires. A dedicated cable locator or wire tracker would be a more appropriate tool for this task, as it's designed for detecting wiring in complex environments.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the electrician pulls out his orienteering compass to try to locate the wire using the magnetic field from it, as his supervisor, I would recommend he put his compass back in the toolbox. The reason is that a typical orienteering compass is not precise enough to map the precise location of a wire based on the magnetic field produced by an electric current. Let's remember that a compass needle will align itself with the magnetic field lines in its locality, pointing with its north pole in the direction of the field generated by, for example, a long straight wire or a current loop. However, in the complex environments found within buildings, numerous other metallic components, and even the Earth’s magnetic field itself, can interfere with the compass readings, making the task impractical or inaccurate for pinpointing an electrical wire's location.
Additionally, the strength of a magnetic field produced by an electrical wire is inversely proportional to the distance from the wire, becoming weaker as the distance increases. The field strength necessary to influence a compass could be substantial and may require unrealistic current values for typical building wiring, making it even less likely that an orienteering compass could reliably detect a wire's location without specific knowledge of the circuit's characteristics.
A more suitable tool for this task would be a dedicated cable locator or wire tracker, which is designed to handle the complexities of detecting wiring behind walls and other surfaces.