Electricity & Magnetism: Whose Field Line Is It, Anyway?
Electricity and magnetism affect every modern industry including communication, entertainment, medicine, warfare and manufacturing.Copyright Literacy Information and Communication System, US Department of Education http://resources.govdelivery.com/resources/USCDC/tweens_200.jpg
Student teams each use a bar magnet, sheet of paper and iron shavings to reveal the field lines as they travel around a magnet. They repeat the activity with an electromagnet made by wrapping thin wire around a nail and connecting either wire end to a battery. They see that the current flowing through a wire produces a magnetic field around the wire and that this magnetic field induced by electricity is no different than that produced by a bar magnet. The experience helps to solidify the idea that electricity and magnetism are deeply interrelated.
The subject of electricity and magnetism has long been a topic of interest for physicists and engineers throughout history. Great minds such as Faraday, Gauss and Maxwell made discoveries that helped shape the current world in which we live. For example, electricity and magnetism affect every modern industry whether it is communication, entertainment, medicine, warfare, manufacturing, etc. This activity is related to Faraday's law of electromagnetic rotation, which is directly linked to the electric motor. From an engineering standpoint, electric motors are vital components to many home appliances. The outcome of the experiment explored in this activity has been used by countless engineers in making our world better.
After this activity, students should be able to;
- Describe current.
- Explain how voltage produces a current.
- Explain how current produces a magnetic field.
- Describe the interconnection of electricity and magnetism.
- Identify how magnetic field lines are generated in relation to a coil of wire that has a current.