tittle Science Fair Report Can magnets cause certain objects to become other magnets without any effects

on their own strength? By Kyle Worcester - Moore ABSTRACT How can magnets seemingly cause certain objects to become other magnets without any effects on their own strength? This observation seems to defy common sense and may even defy the laws of conservation of energy. I wanted to find out if this was really true so I have devised a simple test to evaluate my hypothesis: magnets can magnetize other objects without depleting their own strength. This claim is bold but It could make sense due to the dipole properties ("Magnetism at the Atomic Level") of every magnetize-able substance. My test uses a magnetometer, some screws and several neodymium magnets to determine the reduction in strength. By magnetizing the screw with the neodymium magnets, I determined the reduction in strength of the magnet and the strength of the newly made magnet (screw). My results show that my hypothesis was correct, magnets are able to magnetize other objects without depleting their own magnetic force. INTRODUCTION Two of the most fundamental laws of physics that apply to almost every type of energy and force, are the laws of conservation of energy and conservation of mass. They state that energy and mass can be changed or transferred, but not removed or created; however, one force seems to challenge that, magnetism. It is a well known fact that magnetic objects will attract or repel other magnetic objects and that magnets can be used to magnetize certain objects such as nails and paper clips. However, I have also noticed that there seems to be no noticeable reduction in the strength of a magnet no matter how many objects are magnetized by that magnet. This curious observation suggests that magnets may not follow the laws of conservation of energy or mass. It is important to note that a magnet is not necessarily a type of energy. Accordi ng to David Cohen of MIT Magnetism is a force, but it has no energy of its own. (Jensen) This means that magnets do not necessarily have to follow the conservation of energy law; however, magnets must still follow some conservation laws otherwise the free energy machine or perpetual motion machine that countless inventors have sought to produce and failed, should be theoretically possible. Since science has proven these machines to be impossible within the current laws of physics, the problem of infinite magnetization of objects with a single magnet should also be impossible.

PROBLEM The laws of conservation of energy and mass should apply to every force and object there is; however, magnetism seems to defy those laws, no matter how many objects are magnetized by a single magnet its strength seems to never be depleted. HYPOTHESIS Considering what I know, I hypothesize that magnets are able to magnetize other objects without depleting their own magnetic force.

MATERIALS

Raw materials 4 Neodymium Magnets Masking Tape 16 Screws 2 by 4 2 Cinder Blocks

Tools Vernier Magnetic Field Sensor Compass 2 Rulers Timer Computer with Vernier Software

METHODS In order to test whether magnets follow any law of conservation I need a way to accurately determine the strength of a magnetic field. Fortunately Dr. Dan Fernandez at CSUMB allowed me to use a lab grade magnetometer (Vernier Magnetic Field Sensor) for my project. By comparing the strength of each magnet before and after it is used to magnetize another object, I can determine the reduction in strength of the magnet. If the reduction is equal to the strength of the newly magnetized object, I can infer that the laws of conservation apply to magnetism. If not, magnetism breaks those laws. In order to further test my hypothesis I compared the strength of the original magnet to the same magnet when it had been used to magnetize that object in addition to the newly magnetized object. The setup of the experiment is fairly simple. I used 10 neodymium magnets because of their strength and because they are hard to demagnetize with an opposing magnetic field ("Demagnetization"). In order to ensure my tests stayed the same throughout the experiment, I labeled each magnets north pole, south pole, and top using a compass. I also set up my experiment parallel to the earths magnetic field in order to reduce interference. First I laid out a ruler to ensure the magnet was the same distance from the sensor every time. Then I placed the magnetic field sensor at the 0 mark on the ruler. Through pre-experiment testing I found the sensor worked best when the magnets were 1.5 cm away. Coincidentally dice are 1.5 cm so I used one as a spacer between the sensor and the magnets. To keep everything in place I taped the sensor, dice and ruler down to a sturdy 2 by 4. Then I used two cinder blocks to elevate the whole test bed off of the possibly magnetic tabletop and angle it at roughly 30 degrees. The sloped test bed helped to keep the magnet in place.

For each of the trials I tested the magnet and screws strength before, and after the magnetization process. To do this I placed a magnet on the dice opposite the sensor and recorded its strength. Then I placed a screw in the same position and recorded its magnetic strength (I found that screws retained the most magnetic properties from neodymium magnets in a pre experiment test). To reduce the random fluctuations in the output I averaged each data point over a 5 second period using the sensors software. After both the magnet and screw were measured, I used the magnet to magnetize the screws by placing the screws head on the north pole of the magnet for 30 seconds. Then I tested the magnet, and the screw by placing them one at time in the same location on the dice opposite the sensor to get my post magnetization results. I repeated these steps 4 times using a new screw each time. Once I had completed 4 trials (magnetized 4 separate screws) with a single magnet, I switched out a new magnet and new screws. I repeated this process 4 times for a total of 16 screws/trials (4 new screws for each of the 4 magnets) and used 4 separate magnets.

RESULTS For each of the trials I used a neodymium magnet to magnetize a different screw. For each of the magnets (column 1) 4 different screws were magnetized (column 2 (Trials)). You can see the screw and magnet before (left numerical columns) and after (right numerical columns) the screw was magnetized by the neodymium magnet. The negative signs in the chart represent the south pole of the magnet while positive numbers represent the north pole. My results show that the magnets consistently retained their strength even when used to magnetize a screw. On average the screws magnetism changed by, 0.224 mT, but I found no significant change in the magnetic force of any of the neodymium magnets.

M ag ne t

T r i a l T r i a l

Magnet Original

Screw Original

Post Magnetization Screw

Post Magnetization Magnet

M ag ne t1

4.919

-0.05757

-0.1958

4.947

1 T r i a l 2 T r i a l 3 T r i a l 4 M ag ne t2 T r i a l 1 T r i a l 2 4.911 0.07725 -0.207 4.937 4.915 0.1321 -0.209 4.91 4.927 0.07277 -0.2378 4.946 4.949 -0.1679 -0.2442 4.957 4.932 -0.0639 -0.2233 4.949

T r i a l 3 T r i a l 4 M T

4.917

0.05316

-0.2027

4.894

4.918

0.1425

-0.2328

4.923

4.971

-0.1588

-0.2525

4.932

ag ne t3

r i a l 1 T r i a l 2 T r i a l 3 T r i a l 4 4.938 0.1191 -0.2066 4.937 4.942 0.1157 -0.2074 4.941 4.953 0.1464 -0.213 4.945

M ag ne t4

T r i a l 1 T r i a l 2 T r i a l 3 T r i a l

4.984

-0.09761

-0.2352

4.958

4.964

-0.09207

-0.2481

4.989

4.959

-0.1081

-0.2505

4.975

4.954

-0.1372

-0.253

4.98

DISCUSSION Even though I had to revise my test setup several times and the sensor was not very accurate I believe that I can reasonably trust my data given its clarity. By analyzing my data I showed that my hypothesis was, as far as I can tell, correct, and I figured out one of my own personal curiosities.

After analyzing my data I have come to these conclusions: 1: The 0.224 mT average change in magnetism of the screw shows that the screw did absorb a fair amount of magnetism from the magnet. If the laws of conservation apply to magnets The change in magnetism of the screw should have been nearly equal to the reduction of strength in the magnet. 2: The strength of the magnet stayed very constant considering the high variation and random fluctuations of the sensor reading. In addition, If the laws of conservation applied to magnetism the magnet should have changed as much as the screw. These 2 conclusions together support my hypothesis. The most prevalent problem in my experiment was the variation in the sensors reading, With everything perfectly still the sensor varied from 0.020 to -0.010 and changed rapidly. This made confirming the output very difficult. In addition even as all the other magnets were kept far away they could have varied the screws magnetic strength slightly. Also the time period in which each screw was magnetized varied on the order of 1 second from trial to trial. In addition the rotation of the screw although kept to a minimum could have varied by several degrees. This could have had effects on its reading if the screw was diametrically magnetized (Magnetization Direction). Over all my project would have benefited from hav ing more accurate stable equipment and a more stable magnetic environment. CONCLUSION My project showed that magnets do not lose strength when they are used to magnetize other objects and that my hypothesis was correct. This suggests that magnets do not follow any form of conservation of energy or conservation of anything.

In the paper, The unit mT is referring to a millitesla. In addition, the word sensor is referring to the Vernier Magnetic Field Sensor.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dr. Dan Fernandez (Advisor) Dr. Steven W. Moore (my dad/secondary Advisor) Mr. Alex Awesome Or Mr Alex Hofsteen (my science teacher) CSUMB (for use of the magnetometer)

BIBLIOGRAPHY Jensen, Sarah. "Why Can't Magnetism Be Used as a Source of Energy?" Ask an Engineer. MIT School of Engineering, 22 May 2012. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. "Magnetism at the Atomic Level." Laboratory of Nanostructures at Surfaces. COLE POLYTECHNIQUE FDRALE DE LAUSANNE, 2002. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. "Vernier Magnetic Field Sensor." Vernier Magnetic Field Sensor MG-BTA. Vernier, 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. "Demagnetization." Neodymium Magnet Information. K&J Magnetics, n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. "Magnetization Direction for Neodymium Magnets." K&J Magnetics, INC. K&J Magnetics, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. Urls: 1. http://engineering.mit.edu/ask/why-cant-magnetism-be-used-source-energy 2. http://lns.epfl.ch/page-31326-en.html 3. http://www.vernier.com/files/manuals/mg-bta.pdf 4. http://www.kjmagnetics.com/neomaginfo.asp 5. http://www.kjmagnetics.com/magdir.asp