Measuring the Strength of Electromagnets

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objective is to determine how the strength of an electromagnet changes by changing the number of loops in an electromagnet Methods/Materials The method used was to set up a stand (wood) with a carriage (wood) to hold the electromagnet (3 1/2 inch iron nail with copper wire) and change the carriage distance to the measuring device (a magnetic compass) while using a low voltage power source (4-AA batteries) connected to the electromagnet Results The strength of each electromagnet increased with an increase in the number of coils. This was observed when the magnetic compass needle deviated at greater distances as the electromagnets loops increased. Also the rate of change of neddle deflection angle was greater for each centimeter the lectromagnets with more loos were moved closer to the compass. Conclusions/Discussion My hypothesis was correct: the strength of electromagnets change with a change in the number of loops. The results were graphed showing the changes. However, a relation of the lines to the distance could not be developed in time. Further analysis and testing is required for that after making a few improvements to make the results more consistent, such as using a more reliable power source,or adapting an electric circuit that could keep the batteries from draining too fast. It was fun to create an experiment that actually worked.

Competition history

• CSEF 2012 Electronics & Electromagnetics · Entry J0929

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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