615-0300 (20-030) and 615-0305 (20-035) Electromagnet Written by Dr
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©2012 - v 5/09 615-0300 (20-030) and 615-0305 (20-035) Electromagnet Written by Dr. P.G. Mattocks Introduction: Activities few inches above the surface. This compact electromagnet is able If conditions are right, sur- to lift 100 times its weight - up to 200 faces smooth, tray loaded and pounds (20-030) or 500 pounds (20- Demonstrate Holding Force 035), with only one or two 1 1/2 volt D A quick way to demonstrate holding hanging correctly, you can cell batteries as a power source! This is force is to connect batteries, place core carry over 200 pounds. due to precision machining of the flat and yoke together, and try to pull apart Reverse connections and confirm surfaces (core and yoke). Compare it to with your two hands. If your surfaces the same load can be carried. cranes that can lift derelict automobiles are flush and connections good, you Variations: Stand on a bathroom scale around a junk yard. These cranes use will not be able to separate the parts. underneath the magnet and pull electromagnets similar in principle to Now disconnect battery. Parts remove down on the yoke. (Take care the this one, although with higher power easily. yoke does not hit your head. Avoid requirements. This style of crane For a quantifiable demonstration, the in ropes!) The reading on scale is practical since it can be switched you will need: will decrease by amount of the force on and off remotely and loaded and • Weights between magnet and yoke. If you unloaded by one person. • Tray for holding weights weigh 240 pounds and the yoke Warranty and parts: • Safety strap separates at a reading of 40 pounds, We replace all defective or missing parts free • Connection to beam1. the maximum holding force is 200 of charge. Additional replacement parts may be pounds. If you weigh less than 200 ordered toll-free. We accept MasterCard, Visa, Hang magnet as shown in Figure 1.2. pounds, this little magnet should be checks and School P.O.s. All products warranted Add known weights to tray until able to bear your full weight. to be free from defect for 90 days. Does not ap- yoke falls off. ply to accident, misuse or normal wear and tear. Intended for children 13 years of age and up. The safety strap will catch the This item is not a toy. It may contain small parts yoke but not the tray, provided Dependence on Current that can be choking hazards. Adult supervision 1. Attach as in first demonstration is required. the tray was initially only a 2. Change the current as shown: For best results: • Do not scratch mating surfaces. batteries or heavy duty Keep mating surfaces clean, smooth beam power supply variable resistor and undamaged. If surfaces do not mate properly, poles appear which connection reduce strength. Smear grease or safety strap to beam oil between use or while storing. Remove before using. electromagnet • Do not operate near a watch, color coil TV or other electrical appliance. Core Figure 2: Connecting Battery & Resistor • Do not switch on current until magnet surfaces are aligned to prevent Yoke damage from sudden impact. 3. Place known weight on tray and vary • To calculate the force required current until it falls. to remove the yoke, compare the Graph load against current and note that weight pan energy contained in the magnetic load does not increase linearly with field with separation of the yoke. It current. This is because the iron is should agree with the 200 pounds well magnetized and approaching found experimentally. table top saturation. (See Theory in following sections.) Operation Requires: Warning: The coil will overheat in a one or two D cell batteries Figure 1: How to Hang Electromagnet few minutes with currents of 2 or more amps. 1 SCIENCE FIRST® | 86475 Gene Lasserre Blvd., Yulee, FL 32097 | 800-875-3214 | www.sciencefirst.com | [email protected] SCIENCE FIRST® | 86475 Gene Lasserre Blvd., Yulee, FL 32097 | 800-875-3214 | www.sciencefirst.com | [email protected] ©2012 - v 5/09 Dependence on Gap terminal will therefore be negative during cause them to be magnetic. 1. Repeat procedure above. induction and vice versa. These thermal properties are employed 2. Place one or more layers of alu- Because the induction is brief, the in magnetic heat engines. minum foil (about .005 inch, depending value obtained cannot be predicted be- Exploring magnetic field upon type of foil) between electromagnet cause it is too dependent on voltmeter around electromagnet and yoke. response-time. An ammeter can also be 1. Place sheet of cardboard (or Because aluminum is nonmagnetic used to detect the brief flow of current of other nonmagnetic material) over and no free poles appear at iron surface, a few milliamperes that results. upturned face of magnet. the effect of coil current on iron is re- 2. Sprinkle iron filings over the duced. Even one thousandth of an inch of Dependence on magnet face. foil will reduce the holding force to 100 Temperature(Curie Use a small hand-held compass to lbs. This confirms the need for smooth Temperature) identify poles. The North pole of the surfaces in an electromagnet. 1. Hold steel wire coat hanger close compass (that which seeks the Earth’s to electromagnet. Observe attraction. Replace iron yoke with other North Pole) will point to the South pole 2. Heat same short section of wire of the magnet (which seeks the South substances with propane torch. pole of the Earth). 1. In place of yoke try other materials Warning: Do not heat electromagnet! - copper, aluminum, brass etc. Confirm Observe that red-hot steel is no longer that these materials are nonmagnetic.2. Theory attracted but that on cooling magnetism Part One: Background Use core of magnet to lift other iron is restored. At high temperatures, objects in addition to yoke. Use iron Sailors have known of naturally oc- thermal agitation destroys alignment objects with flat surfaces free of rust and curring permanent magnets for thousands within each domain. paint (i.e: base of iron cooking pot; base of years. In the 1800’s, connections When a few spins are shaken out of carpenter’s wood plane). Try to attain between magnetism and electricity were of alignment, their influence is lost holding forces of 40 lbs. studied by Ampere, Maxwell, Biot-Sa- over neighboring spins which in turn vark, Curie etc. Together their equations Remanence are more easily shaken. The magnetic “solve” (accurately predict outcome of) character does not trail off over an ill- 1. Put yoke in place and connect coil given physical situations. But these were defined temperature range but drops to cell for a few seconds so domains are of a phenomenological nature. While at an increasing rate until it vanishes aligned as before. equations quantified the observed math- at a particular material-dependent 2. Disconnect coil. You will need to ematical relationships between electricity temperature (the or apply a few pounds of force to pull yoke Curie Temperature, and magnetism in the form of “laws”, ) For iron, Tc is 770 ° C; in contrast, off. Not all domain walls moved back Tc. they did not give insight into why there red heat becomes just barely visible in when cell was disconnected. Due to the should be two seemingly different but a dark room at about 700° C. There closed magnetic circuit, there are no free related effects as magnetism and elec- is no connection between these two poles even in iron to drive domain walls tricity. Both were seen to depend upon effects but red heat does make a useful back past the few pinning sites. electric charge. thermometer. 3. Pull yoke off to break magnetic Most people believed these inter- There are two other common circuit. Reapply yoke. You’ll see that lit- twined but apparently different effects magnetic materials. The found in tle force is required to pull it off again. flint had common explanations. Einstein’s cigarette lighters, an alloy of iron and Theory of Relativity (1905) provided the Demonstrate Induction curium, is magnetic with Tc of about missing connection. It stated that length, 100° C. Suspend a cigarette lighter on The remanence noted above time and mass transform according to cotton thread and observe as it pulls to the relative velocity between observer may be used to demonstrate the electromagnet. Dip in boiling water; and observed. Even though a stationary induction. the attraction disappears until the flint electric charge produces certain effects 1. When disconnecting coil from cell, cools. on its surroundings (described as an connect coil to DC voltmeter. Some brass screws are nickel-plated. electric field) the electric charge, when 2. Pull off yoke. Voltmeter will The nickel is ferromagnetic with Tc of moving, produces a different effect due briefly register aninduced voltage. 360° C. Despite thin plating, if you to those transformations. This effect is This is because magnetism in the iron is suspend the screw by a brass wire, what is described as the original electric collapsing as domain walls are driven back you’ll see attraction to the electromagnet. field due to static charge plus a magnetic by free poles. This, according to Lenz’s Gentle heating - take care not to melt field caused by the movement of the Law, induces a voltage in the coil in order wire! - will cause the nickel to become charge. In this case, the magnetic field is a to sustain the magnetism. It tries to replace nonmagnetic below red heat but above relativistic correction to the electric field. current that magnetized the iron in the first boiling water temperature.