An Experience in Application of Lorentz Force

Authored by Matthew Mulloy

Introduction
I envisioned this project to be about the creation of a toy boat with was propelled forward using
Lorentz force. It failed. Instead, this project became about how this project went wrong, which is
equally important. I will examine the important forces applied to the design, where the project went
right, how and why the toy was damaged, and where the design faults lie. I will use this project to
further my understanding, not only of Lorentz Force, which was my original goal, but also of the other
elements involved so I can one day create a successful magnetohydrodynamic drive.

The Design; a Broader Sense

It should be noted that the intent of this project was not to simply create a
magnetohydrodynamic drive which could produce a Lorentz Force; but rather to create a toy boat in
which propulsion was determined by said force. It would be easy to connect a car battery to two copper
plates and direct current over a powerful magnet. But in the model produced, the mass of the battery
would not sustain buoyancy. The objective was to create a useful toy which could be independent of
the user. In that way, when my skills in this field increase, I could use the experience gained in this
project in combination with others to build a remote controlled boat which could be placed in some
arbitrary body of water and played with.
To that end, the toy boat was built. The structure used a combination of balsa and bass wood
glued together. Two copper plates were placed underneath a strong magnet. These would be

connected to a voltage source. The current from the source would pass into one plate and then through
salt water and into the other. This would create a full circuit with direct current flowing through a
magnetic field, thus creating the Lorentz Force. A detailed illustration of the toy with measured lengths
follows the conclusion.
When discussing the design of the toy, each force acting upon the boat must be considered.
First, I will define the positive z direction as up and the positive x direction as the bow of the boat; the
forward direction of momentum. The first two forces, the Lorentz Force and drag, have direct impact on
the success of the experiment described in the equation Ftotal = FLorentx Fdrag of water Fdrag of air .
Therefore, these are the forces which will be discussed in detail. The other two forces, weight and
buoyancy, act in the positive and negative y direction respectively. As illustrated, the toy floated at the
identified water line. Since these forces act perpendicular to the Lorentz Force, they have little bearing
on determining the success of the project other that the obvious need for the toy to float and float
evenly which in did as shown in the photograph.

The Drag Equation, a Measurement in Effectiveness

As shown in the equation FMotion = FLorentz Fdrag of water Fdrag of air , the drag equation is
in direct opposition to the Lorentz force. Therefore analyzing this force is essential in determining the
success of the project. The drag equation is written Fdrag =

1
2

Cdrag A v 2, where is the fluid mass

density of water (and air), A is the cross sectional area of the toy, v is the velocity of the toy, and Cdrag is

the drag coefficient (S7). Firstly, I must decide upon temperature since multiple aspects of these
calculations are temperature dependent. So for the remainder of this project, the temperature I will use
is 70F, or about room temperature.
The fluid mass densities of both interacting fluids have been well researched before this project.
For of water, I will be using sea water in my calculations for obvious real world reasons. From my
research, at 70F, the fluid mass density of air is 2.329*103

slugs
kg
, or 1.2003 3 (S2) against a
ft 3
m

cross sectional area of 1.672*103 m2 and the fluid mass density of sea water is 1024.465

kg
(S4)
m3

against a cross sectional area of1.568*103 m2 . These numbers reflect the basic reality that passing
through water is harder than passing through air.
This leaves only the drag coefficient, Cdrag to be determined. Several factors including shape
and smoothness of the material are required in order to determine this exact number. Under ideal
conditions, repeated testing using a variety of different instigating forces would be used to determine
velocity. This would give total force and from that, the drag coefficient could be determined. This was
less than practical.
From my research, I have found that the drag coefficient of a cube with its corner facing the flow
is 0.80 and 1.05 with its edge facing the flow. The research also shows that the angle of interest for a
cone will determine the drag coefficient as well as the ratio of length to diameter for a cylinder. The
smaller the angle of interest is, the smaller the drag coefficient will be. Also, the greater the ratio of
length to diameter is, the smaller the drag coefficient will be (S12). Since my angle of interest, was
measured to be 38 which is less than 45, the angle of interest of a cube and my length to cross
sectional width ratio is 11.8 cm7.6 cm, which is 1.55, I am concluding that Cdrag = .70 is a good guess.

Therefore, Fdrag of water = 0.5623v 2 and Fdrag of air = 0.0007024v 2 . I can write any force, F =
ma, as F =

mv
t

if the acceleration is a constant. The only force which produces acceleration in this project

is the Lorentz Force. Since that force will be shown to be constant and the mass of the design is
constant, then I can conclude that the acceleration will be constant. This gives me the equation
mv
t

= FLorentz 0.5630v 2. This will give an equation relating velocity in meterssecond with time in

seconds. So for any given time, t = F

mv
2
Lorentz 0.5630v

. This equation will show the effectiveness of my

design.

Salt Water as a Charge Carrier

In order to understand how the Lorentz Force is applied to the toy, I must first examine why sea
water can carry current. Salt is an electrolyte. This simply means that when salt is dissolved into a
solution it acts as a conductor. For this conversation, the solution will be water. Firstly, water has an
inherent natural electric pole. This is because when a water molecule forms, the two hydrogen (+)
atoms tend to gather close to each other. Therefore, the electrons tend to be located next to the
oxygen (-) atom. This creates a minor electric dipole across the axis of the oxygen atom. Thus, water is
polar. This makes water effective at dissolving other polar molecules, such as salt (S9).
When salt is added to water, the water molecules surround the individual salt ions and break
them into individual ionic components. These components are sodium, which has a positive charge, and
chlorine, which has a negative charge. The act of surrounding salt and breaking it into its component
ions also prevents the ions joining together. They are each individually free to move in the solution.
When a current is placed through salt water, the negative chlorine ions are attracted to the positive
terminal and the positive sodium ions are attracted to the negative terminal. This effect allows a
current to flow.

The ability of salt water to act as a conductor depends on several important factors. As stated
previously, temperature is a factor. When the water is hotter, the molecules have more energy and the
ions move through the solution with greater ease. So the hotter the solution is, the better it conducts
electricity. Also, concentration of salt in water affects its ability to conduct electricity. The more salt
dissolved in the water, the better the conductivity. This proportion increases at the same rate. Double
the salt translates to double the conductivity (S11). Pressure also affects conductivity; the higher the
pressure, the higher the conductivity, up to a maximum (S1). For this project, pressure will be considered
to be 1 atm as the toy boat floats at the surface, temperature will again be assumed as T = 70F, and the
salt concentration will be assumed to be that of sea water, or 35 PSU (S6). The salinity of the solution is
for calculations only as experimentation failed before this level of precision could be reached.

The Calculations of Lorentz Force

The propulsion system for the toy boat is a magnetohydrodynamic drive which uses Lorentz
= q (E
+v
) where E is
Force for forward propulsion. This force is written in its most complete form F
B
the external electric field, q is the point charge, v is the velocity of the point charge, and B is the
magnetic field. For this design, an electric field is created between the plates, but it is not external nor
dl

=qv
. Since v = and
in the direction of the force. Therefore the equation I will be using is F
B
dt
dq
current I = dt , then the force on a current can be written in the form F = I
dl B (S8). This is the form I

will be using. In this equation, B is the magnetic field, I is the current passing through the conductive sea
water, and dl is the magnitude of the length of current through the sea water in direction j where j is in
the positive y direction pointed toward the port or left side of the boat. So the equation I will be using is
then F = I L j B (S10) where B is in the -k direction.

For a demonstration of the direction of the vectors involved we will use the right hand rule.
Point your thumb horizontally to represent the current. Your outstretched fingers pointing down
represent the magnetic field. So your thumb is in the previously defined y direction and your fingers are
pointing in the negative z direction. This is the north pole of the magnet. Curling your fingers gives you
the direction of the Lorentz Force, which by cross product rules, is in the positive x direction. This is the
direction the water will be pushed. With your fingers curled, move your hand to the right. This is the
direction the boat will be pushed. The following picture illustrates this (S5). The main conclusions are
that the individual vectors obey the laws of cross product and the force of motion
FMotion is in the direct
opposite direction of the Lorentz Force.

-x

v
FMotion

FLorentz

-z
To start the calculations, the length of the current was easy enough to measure. L = 2 cm. For
the magnetic field B, I used four neodymium magnets of diameter 1 inch and thickness 0.125 in. Each
magnet has a surface field strength of 0.2612 T. So I will assume that the total magnetic field at the
surface is 1.0448 T. However, this is not the real case. For the real case, the inverse cube law would
diminish the strength of the field (S3). So more force would be exerted by the magnetic field reacting

with the current the closer to the permanent magnet the current was. This also ignores the 2 cm thick
piece of bass wood that the magnet was resting on. This is ignored for practical reasons as careful
measurement of the magnetic field would prove challenging under the best of circumstances.
Calculation of the current proved easier. The drive was powered by four 9 V batteries with an
average open terminal voltage of Vopen =9.053 V. To find the internal resistance of the batteries, I
connected each of them in series to two resisters of values R1 = 993.6 and R 2 = 2199 . Then I
measured the voltage across R1 for each case. The average voltage across this resister was
Vopen

Vresistor = 2.815 V. Then, using voltage divider R internal = R V

resister

R1 R 2, the average internal

resistance for each battery was found to be 2.803 .

Next, I found the resistance of the sea water. Conductivity of the sea water is = 4.904557 Sm.
The resistivity of the water is the inverse of conductivity, or = 0.203892 m (S4). I used the equation
l

for resistance R = A where l is the length of the current and A is the area of the plates in the water
(S14).

As stated above, l = 2 cm. A was measured to be 2.6 cm by 2.5 cm for a total area of 0.00065 m2 .

So the total resistance of the sea water is calculated to be 6.2736 .

Combined with the internal resistances of each of the four batteries, the total resistance of the
elements in series is 17.4856 in a circuit with a voltage source of 36.212 V. So my calculated current
passing through my magnetic field is 2.07096 A. As thorough as this is, it is again not entirely accurate.
In order to have a truly correct assessment for the current, I would have to measure the current loops
inside each of the plates. Then I would have to measure how these loops affected how the current
passed through the conductor. I would also have to consider how much of the current interacted with
the magnetic field. This too is less than practical at this level.

Placing all values into Lorentz force, I have FLorentz = .0433 N. Placing this value into the total
0.286v

force found with the drag equation and using the measured mass m = .286 kg, I have t = 0.043270.5630v2 .
This is the equation which will show my effectiveness. So to find the maximum velocity of my drive, I
0.286v

take the limit of t as t . So, if 0.043270.5630v2 , then 0.04327-0.5630v 2 must equal zero.
Therefore, my maximum velocity is calculated to be 0.277 ms. This reflects the fact that an object
under a constant acceleration through a fluid will have a maximum velocity, as shown in the graph
below, which plotted time verses velocity from my equation. Surprisingly, the mass of the boat only
effects how quickly the toy reaches its maximum velocity, not what that maximum velocity is.

0.30

0.25

Velocity (m/s)

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00
0

10

15

20

25

Time (s)

After all calculations and measurements have been taken, the maximum velocity of my design is
roughly 0.62 mph or one mile every one hour 36 minutes. This is of course under the most ideal of
conditions. The actual maximum velocity would be far less. As stated previously, the magnetic field
strength used was assumed to be much greater. And the current was similarly assumed. Therefore,
even though a Lorentz Force was produced, its ability to drive the boat was not effective enough to

show results. This is more apparent when considering that the initial test only used one of the four
permanent magnets. This lack of visual confirmation directly led to the projects failure.

Why it Failed, An Analysis

Firstly, I will discuss how the continuation of the project became financially infeasible. The toy
boat was placed in the water with all four batteries connected in series. It floated as expected with
symmetry in regards to the bow and stern as well as the port and starboard axis. One on the four
magnets was placed perpendicular to the copper plates as shown in the picture. Only one magnet was
used because the batteries were ferromagnetic. This problem would have been easy to solve. I would
have places pieces of balsa wood in the toy to prevent the magnet force from moving any of the
elements. It is apparent that the proximity of the batteries to the magnet is a major design flaw.
Though the problem is more severe than that and will be discussed later.

Notice the water line is as expected and even.

Using only one magnet reduced the Lorentz force by a factor of four. This changed the equation
0.283v

found above to t = 0.010830.5630v2 . So the maximum velocity ends up being 0.1387 ms or 0.31 mph.
Again, this is actually an optimistic number. After a few minutes without visual results, I attempted to
perform the experiment using all four magnets with one battery in a matter shown in the resource video
(R3). I used a Styrofoam bowl and who quarters to carry the current. The quarters and the magnets
were accidently in contact when placed in the water. The magnets immediately began a process called

electrolytic corroding (S15). Evidence of this can be seen on the copper plates of the toy as a greenish
discoloring. The electrolysis effect greened portions of the copper plates that were outside of the water
as well.

Notice the green discoloration and stains on the wood.

As discussed previously, when salt is dissolved in water, it breaks into its ionic components.
These components are free to move in the solution independent of each other. They are charged and
respond to an electric current. When these ions interact with copper, a green tarnish becomes visible.
It can be removed in part as shown above but leaves a stain. The nickel plating of the neodymium
magnets does not react well with the chlorine ion in the solution (S15). The corrosion of the metal was
instantaneous and complete. Three of the four magnets were ruined beyond use. The forth was
damaged, but salvageable. It is still missing a portion of its nickel plating on its side. The corrosion
turned the wire connected to the battery a dullish hue with spots of red. It turned the alligator clips
connecting the wire to the battery a similar rust color and made its opening and closing more difficult.
Furthermore, it corroded the battery, reducing its measured voltage for 9.124 V on to 6.382 V. Visual
damage to the battery was also present. It was the damage to the magnets that made completing the
toy boat financially and logistically impossible as ordering more would have taken both money and time
for shipping.
Secondly, the project failed due to major design faults in the magnetohydrodynamic drive as a
B
B
= I dl
, can be written as F
= V dl
. For the current in the circuit,
whole. The force produced, F
R

l
A

assuming that no resistance exists except in the sea water, the equation for R = . So when placed into
=
the force equation, F

AV
l

. As discusses previously,
dl B
dl is the length of the current interacting with

the magnetic field along the vector of the current, Lj. Since L = l, they cancel. So the equation would be
= AV j Bk, observing all important vectors (S8). This means that as the area that the current flows
F

through increases, so too does the force. But it also means that it is tied directly with the magnetic field.
If the magnetic field is uniform, then an increase in area increases the force, as I had originally thought.
However, in my design, I did not have a uniform magnetic field. The magnetic field produced by
my magnet decreased with distance according to the inverse cube law. So only a fraction of the area of
my current interacted with the magnetic field. As a result of this, the observed Lorentz Force was
greatly reduced. So my choice of magnets was incorrect. A uniform field should have been created to
encompass the entirety of the area or a larger magnetic field should have been used which would have
thoroughly permeated through with strength.

Magnetic field lines of a bar magnet (S13)

V

A further problem arises when looking at the assumption of that when I = R, R is the resistance
l

of the sea water. This is not the case. In my design, R = R + A where R was the internal resistance of
four batteries. When this is taken into effect, then the equation for the current becomes I =
VA

V
R +

l
A

= AR + l. So, assuming that I had a uniform magnetic field, then as A , I . This means that any

resistance in the circuit other than the sea water directly inhibits the efficiency of the drive. Therefore,
batteries with their internal resistances are a horrible design choice for the project.
In the real world, no system can be completely without resistance. Even the wires carrying
current from the source to the copper plates have resistance. So too do the copper plates. The
objective of a magnetohydrodynamic drive should be to eliminate as much non sea water resistance as
possible. Therefore, as R 0, the current interacting with the magnetic field, I =

VA
.
l

This will allow

a uniform magnetic field to interact over as great an area as possible in the most effective way with as
much current as possible.

Conclusions
I made a lot of mistakes. The obvious big mistake was a lack of insulation. I was aware of the
possibility of the salt corroding the wires. I had thought that my boat design would protect the batteries
from the electrolysis effects. And though it did, the discoloration of the copper plates inside the toy
implies that electrolytic corrosion was inevitable. My damaging of the magnets was a result of careless
experimentation. Had I used the mathematical tools at my disposal double check my design, I might
have seen the design failings early. So the first lesson to be learned is be more careful.
The second mistake was in the use of batteries. I needed a more reliable voltage source capable
of producing more current while limiting internal resistance. Or better yet, a dependable independent
current source might remove several of the problems associated with resistance. I also needed a larger
and more uniform magnetic field to interact with the current. With these considerations in mind, a
better design for the toy boat can be made which would put a greater distance between the magnets
and any ferromagnetic material. It will also allow for more mass and therefore, a larger magnet. The
second lesson is to use more mathematical tools before construction begins. Calculations performed in

my head are no longer good enough. As a project to create a usable device, this one failed
spectacularly. As a learning experience so that one day I can create a usable device, this project is
invaluable.

Sources
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Resources
(R1) "Magneto Hydro Dynamics Generator." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 09 May 2013.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCpGXs-E0-g>.
(R2) "Magnetohydrodynamic Pump Demonstration." YouTube. YouTube, 07 Aug. 2011. Web. 09 May
2013.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIaL21_TkDg>.
(R3) "Magnetohydrodynamics." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Nov. 2007. Web. 09 May 2013.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvl0Qkwc9hA>.
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<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT39rd4P9x4>.