The Dissipation of Magnetic Force through Steel Bars

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objective in this experiment was to develope an equation for the amount of magnetic pulling force that would travel through a steel bar if a magnet is placed on one end. Methods/Materials Materials: In this experiment I used various materials: 1.Plank of wood; 2.Permanent magnet 0.5 in by 0.5 in(NFeB); 3.Iron bars with lengths 2cm-24cm (annealed); 4.Wooden bench; 5.Lab notebook; 6.Electronic scale (Measures up to 10 kg); 7.Spring scale (measures up to 40 pounds); 8.Wooden clamp. Procedure: 1.Attach correct length of bar #1 to the wooden clamp; 2.Attach permanent magnet to the top of bar #1; 3.Attach container to bar #2 and bar #2 to bar #1; 4.Empty container (everything is attached and not in motion); 5.Start adding water; 6.Once the container drops, weigh the container (filled) and bar #2; 7.Enter data into lab notebook. Results The results showed that the longer the bar was, the less the magnet attraction force increased or decreased. I fit an equation to the data that was a quadratic equation, not an exponential. However an exponential equation would seem more logical since it will not increase after the vertex. Conclusions/Discussion The data did support my hypothesis. The equation was a polynomial, not exponential. I think that my tests (after perfection of the method) were fairly accurate since the average deviation was 0.995. If this experiment were to be repeated, I would use rods (circular) instead of bars so that the bars wouldn#t hang on edge. I learned in this experiment a formula for the relation of magnetic force to length. I also learned to view magnetic waves as lines that get farther spread apart the farther you are away from the magnet.

Competition history

• CSEF 2012 Physics & Astronomy · Entry J1804

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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