10 feet of wire, a soft iron nail and some
masking tape. Take the wire and wrap it onto the nail. Leave
about 3 inches of each end of the wire hanging off the nail. Wrap
a piece of masking tape around the loose ends of the wire to keep
it from unwinding. Take a small piece of masking tape and make a
flag on one of the wires to mark it. The last step is to strip
off some of the plastic insulation at the ends of the wire. You're
now ready to test your magnet! Find a AA battery, hold both
wires onto opposite ends of the battery. Put a paperclip by your
magnet. It should stick! Unhook the battery, the paper clip
should not stick. If you have a compass, put it near the
electromagnet. Hook up the battery and see what happens! Try
switching the marked wire to the other end of the battery. Does
the paper clip still stick? Does the compass needle still point
the same way? I'm sure you can find a lot of different things to
try!
A soft iron nail, a metal file, a plastic box
with a clear cover and model cement. First take the nail and file
it until you have a small pile of filings. BE CAREFUL so you
don't get this stuff in your eyes! Put the iron filings into the
plastic box. Use the model cement to glue the cover onto the
plastic box. Make sure the cover is glued on air tight, this is
to ensure that no iron filings can escape the box. Let the glue
dry over night. Now, you can test your filings box. Put
the box near a magnet, you should see a pattern similar to the
one in the picture. You can use this box to learn about the
magnetic field of any magnet. Be sure to take a look at
"refrigerator" magnet strips too. Have fun!
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This page was last edited 11 March 1998.