======Creating an Electromagnet======


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**Materials: **{{$demo.materials_description}}\\
**Difficulty: **{{$demo.difficulty_description}}\\
**Safety: **{{$demo.safety_description}}\\
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**Categories:** {{$demo.categories}}
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====Summary====                   
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====Procedure====  
  - Gather materials for each pair: an iron or steel nail (about 3 inches), ~2 feet of insulated copper wire (AWG 22 or thinner), a D-cell battery, and several paperclips.  
  - Strip about ½ inch of insulation from both ends of the wire.  
  - Tightly wrap the wire around the nail 20 or more times in a single layer without crossing turns, leaving a few inches of free wire at each end.  
  - Secure each bare wire end to a different terminal of the D-cell (a rubber band or tape can hold them in place).  
  - Test the electromagnet by attempting to pick up paperclips with the nail’s tip; record how many it lifts.  
  - Disconnect one lead to conserve the battery, then change one variable at a time: add more coils, use fresh or additional batteries in series, or reverse the battery connections to flip the poles.  
  - Use a small compass near the coil to map the magnetic field direction; repeat after reversing the battery to observe pole reversal.  
  - Compare results across groups and discuss which changes increased the magnet’s strength the most.



====Links==== 
Creating An Electromagnet - TeachEngineering: 
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Electromagnet Experiment | Energy | The Good and the Beautiful - The Good and the Beautiful Homeschool Science: 
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📄 Creating an Electromagnet - ncwit.org: [[https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_mag_lesson2_activity1]]\\

====Variations====
  * Swap the iron nail for different cores (steel bolt, large screw, ferrite rod) and compare lifting strength.  
  * Keep coil count constant but vary battery voltage (single D-cell vs. two or three in series) to see current effects.  
  * Test different wire gauges (thicker vs. thinner) while holding coil count and voltage constant.  
  * Build a fixed “field station” coil on a cardboard tube and use a compass to visualize field lines around a solenoid.



====Safety Precautions====
  * Disconnect the battery between trials—continuous current can heat wires and battery terminals.  
  * Do not short the battery by touching bare wire ends directly together.  
  * Use only insulated wire; check for damaged insulation before use.  
  * Handle warm components with care; allow cool-down if parts become hot.  
  * Keep strong magnets and energized coils away from electronics, magnetic strips, and medical devices.  
  * Use wire cutters/strippers safely; supervise younger students during tool use.




====Questions to Consider====
  * What creates the magnetic field in your setup? (Electric current in the coiled wire produces the magnetic field.)  
  * How did increasing the number of coils affect lifting strength? (More coils concentrated the field, increasing strength.)  
  * What happened when you added more batteries in series? (Higher voltage increased current, strengthening the electromagnet.)  
  * Why does reversing the battery connections flip the poles? (Current direction reverses, reversing the magnetic field direction.)  
  * Would the electromagnet work without an iron core? (Yes, the coil alone makes a field, but the iron core concentrates it and makes it stronger.)