Electromagnetism Investigation Essay, Research Paper
Physics – Electromagnetism Planning Previous Scientific Knowledge. When insulated wire is wrapped round an iron nail and the ends of the wire are connected to a battery the nail becomes capable of picking up iron filings and paper clips. This is called an electromagnet. The nail is magnetised by the current in the wire. If the battery is disconnected then the iron clips will fall off. This is because most of the magnetism has been lost. The passage of an electric current along a wire creates a magnetic field around the wire. The fields are in the shape of a series of concentric rings. The more coils used in the electromagnet, the stronger the magnet is. If there is one coil, and another is added, then the two coils have twice the strength of one. This is because the current going through the wire makes the soft-iron core is the factor that induces electromagnetism, as so when there is more current, there will be more wire or or a more magnetised core. Magnets were formed when certain molten metals, (iron, nickel and cobalt,) cool . Normally when the atoms in a non magnetic crystallise, the atoms point in random directions. But because of the properties of the metals mentioned, these atoms line up into parts of the magnetic with similar directions called domains. This is because the earth has a magnetic field, and the atoms in the metal all follow the these magnetic lines and form these domains. This is similar to what happens when an electromagnet is formed. Prediction I think that the more current that goes through the wire, the greater the electromagnetic pull of the soft-iron core will be. This is because the current going through the wire makes the soft-iron core is the factor that induces electromagnetism, as so when there is more current, there will be more electromagnetism. This is the same with the the number of coils,ed with the electromagnet, the more power is returned. The return and investment are not directly proportional. I think this because of the aforementioned scientific knowledge. Aim In this experiment we want to test the power of an electromagnet when the: -number of coils are varied -when the amount of current is varied Preliminary Experiment. In this experiment we experimented with different ways of testing the strength of the electromagnet. We also discovered which was the best core to use, how many coils to use, when the wire melted, and which was the best current to use. We did this by setting up the experiment as shown below and then changing different factors in it, such as the core and number of coils. Apparatus Electromagnet. Crocodile 2.5 M Wire Ammeter Small Yellow Connector wire. Power Pack Soft Iron Core Method-Experiment 1 1) A 2.5 m electrical wire will be coiled around around a soft-iron core 30 times. 2) Crocodile clips will be connected to yellow connecting wires at each end. 3) These together with the ammeter will be connected up to the power supply as shown in the circuit diagram. 4) A fixed amount of iron filings will be poured over the electromagnet with the power switched on. 5) The wire will be shaken until no more iron filings come off. 6) The power will be turned off. All of the iron filings that drop off will be weighed. I will vary only the current in this experiment. All other factors will be kept constant. I will measure the amount of iron filings at 1,2,3,4 & 5 amps. I will repeat each experiment three times for accuracy. Method-Experiment 2 1) A 2.5 m electrical wire wil