In this easy experiment we will make an electromagnet or in other words we will try to find out how an electric current produces a magnetic field.
Things Required:
Wire, 18-gauge, insulated, 1 yd. (1 m)
6-volt battery
Long iron nail
Paper clips
Directions:
Wrap the wire tightly around the nail, leaving about 6 inches (15 cm) of free wire on each end. (This wire-wrapped nail will be used in other experiments.) Make an adult strip the insulation off both ends of the wire. Secure one end of the wire to one pole of the battery. Touch the free end of the wire to the other battery pole while touching the nail to a pile of paper clips. Lift the nail while keeping the ends of the wire on the battery poles. When the nail starts to feel warm, disconnect the wire end you are holding against the battery pole.
This Is What Happens:
The paper clips stick to the iron nail.
Science Behind It:
There is a magnetic field around all wires carrying an electric current. Straight wires have a weak magnetic field around them. The strength of the magnetic field around the wire was increased by coiling the wire into a smaller space, placing a magnetic material-the nail-inside the coil of wire, and increasing the electrical flow through the wire-attaching a battery. The iron nail became magnetized and attracted the paper clips.
