How can I build a powerful electromagnet using a nine volt battery and eas...

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How can I build a powerful electromagnet using a nine volt battery and easily available material?
Here's my teacher's word-for-word description from the assignment sheet: "The purpose here is not simply to build the most powerful electromagnet, but the most effective one. That means you have to think about the kind of metal you will use for your core, the thickness (gage) of the wire you use, how tightly you will make the coil and the shape. Be aware that you have to exercise caution in the construction of your magnet since a nine-volt battery can heat wire up pretty quickly. "YOUR MAGNET MUST HAVE A SWITCH TO EASILY TURN IT ON OR OFF. "The magnets will be demonstrated in class on 6/13/08. Magnets will be tested on their ability to lift iron or steel masses a certain height." Please include information on what materials can I use and how much will they cost. Try to keep it under $100. Thank you.
3 years ago ( 2008-06-01 00:01:02 +0000 ) Report Abuse

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3 years ago

Ano005

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1. Use solid core, not stranded wire. 2. Use a soft iron core, not hard (like a bolt) or stainless steel. 3. Make as many turns of wire around the iron core as possible. 4. Make the wires from the battery to the wire winding as large as possible. In fact, multiple solid wires from the battery to the windings conducts better than one larger diameter wire. 5. Make the part of the magnet that will contact with the test masses as large a contact area as possible. That is, a pointed magnet has little lifting ability. 6. Once a test mass is in contact with the magnet, lift is slowly. Quick moves cause the mass to fall off the magnet (F= m a) moving too quickly is increased acceleration (a) and therefor, more force (F) on the magnet. Finally, and probably, most important, make the connection to the 9 volt battery strong. Very embarrassing to have the connection break, and the object being lifted fall off, just because of a bad connection. Have fun!

Source(s):
http://education.jlab.org/qa/electromagn
3 years ago ( 2008-06-01 00:30:08 +0000 ) Report Abuse

100% 3 Votes MR.B

Other Answers (1)

Here's the basic physics involved. The strength of an electromagnet is proportional to the square of the power dissipated in the winding. A nine volt battery produces very little power; they are intended for things like small radios that don't need much. So, if you want a more powerful magnet, use a few D-size batteries instead. Do the following calculation to design your magnet. First, define the power to be used, a nine volt battery can supply about 0.1 watt, and a D cell about 1.0 watt for a reasonable length of time. Next, determine the spool size: how big is the thing going to be when done? Calculate the volume of the spool, and then choose a wire size. Use the volume and the wire rhsaunde... diameter to determine the length of wire that will fill the spool. Use a wire table to determine the resistance per unit length,

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6/27/2011 12:55 AM

How can I build a powerful electromagnet using a nine volt battery and eas...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080531170102AAf4HO0

and then the total resistance of the wire. Use your battery voltage to determine the power that will be used. If the power is too big; use finer wire, and if too small, use heavier wire. Once you have your wire size defined, go to a place like Radio Shack, and buy wire, switch, batteries, and battery connectors. Then put it together. A suitable sized bolt, or collection of nails, can serve as a core.
3 years ago ( 2008-06-01 00:32:53 +0000 ) Report Abuse

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6/27/2011 12:55 AM