 Uniform current in a straight homogeneous wire

In a homogeneous Ohmic conductor, a steady electric current density obeys $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{j}=0$ and $\nabla \times \mathbf{j}=0$. Uniform axial current in a straight cylinder follows if its side is insulated and its flat end faces are equipotentials. The electric potential then solves Laplace's equation with those boundary conditions, and uniqueness makes it linear in the axial coordinate. Steadiness alone does not impose these contact conditions: nonuniform end potentials can produce nonuniform current even with an insulating side. Bending also generally redistributes current; in an annular conductor the azimuthal current density is proportional to the inverse radius.