Clockwise and Anticlockwise Direction

Clockwise is the direction in which the hands of a clock tick forward.

• Imagine a circle. If you start at the top (12 o'clock) and move to the right, sweeping down towards the bottom (6 o'clock), and then up the left side back to the top, you are moving clockwise.
• Summary: Top to Right, Down, Left, Up.
• In Mathematics: By standard convention, a clockwise rotation is usually considered a Negative (−) angle.

Anticlockwise (known as Counterclockwise in American English) is the exact opposite of clockwise movement.

• You start at the top (12 o'clock), move to the left, sweep down to the bottom (6 o'clock), and then up the right side.
• Summary: Top to Left, Down, Right, Up.
• In Mathematics: By standard convention, an anticlockwise rotation is considered a Positive (+) angle. When you measure angles with a protractor starting from 0° on the right, you measure anticlockwise.

How do you remember which way to turn a screw, a jar lid, or a tap?

The universal engineering rule is: "Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey"

• Clockwise (Right): To tighten a screw, close a bottle cap, or turn off a water tap, you turn it clockwise.
• Anticlockwise (Left): To loosen a screw, open a bottle cap, or turn on a tap, you turn it anticlockwise.

In physics, these terms are heavily used in magnetism. According to Maxwell's Right-Hand Thumb Rule:

• If electric current flows straight towards you, the magnetic field around the wire circles in an anticlockwise direction.
• If the current flows away from you, the magnetic field circles in a clockwise direction.