The Good, the Bad and the Electromagnet
The fundamentals of electricity and magnetism affect every modern industry including communication, entertainment, medicine, warfare and manufacturing.Copyright NIDA for Teens http://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/
Using plastic straws, wire, batteries and iron nails, student teams build and test two versions of electromagnets—one with and one without an iron nail at its core. They test each magnet's ability pick up loose staples, which reveals the importance of an iron core to the magnet's strength. Students also learn about the prevalence and importance of electromagnets in their everyday lives.
Great minds such as Maxwell, Faraday and Gauss made discoveries that continue to shape our modern world. It's a fact that electricity and magnetism affect every modern industry, including communication, entertainment, medicine, warfare and manufacturing. Engineers design electromagnets into uncountable electronic products, home appliances, vehicles, medical equipment and power plants. This activity is based on one of Maxwell's equations, Faraday's law of induction, the principle behind electric generators. The importance of the concept of induction is critical since this serves as the basis for electricity generation to power our homes and businesses.
After this activity, students should be able to
- Describe what an electromagnet is.
- Explain how current produces a magnetic field.
- Describe the interconnection of electricity and magnetism.
- Identify how an iron core affects the characteristics of an electromagnet.