CadyBright

5/14/16
Physics(Period3)

TheFactorsDeterminingtheStrength
ofanElectromagnet

Abstract
MyinitialinspirationinelectromagnetismwascausedbyafascinatingtriptotheScience
MuseuminLondonearlierthisyear,whereIlearnedabouttheoriginandstudyof
electromagnetismthroughoutthelastcouplecenturies.Toconductthisexperiment,Ibeganwith
thequestionInthecreationofanelectromagnet,wouldtwobatteriesjoinedinseriesorparallel
createthemosteffectivemagnetinregardstogreatestoverallstrength?Itestedan
electromagnetsstrengthwithasinglebattery,twobatteriesjoinedinseries,andtwobatteries
joinedinparallel.Myhypothesis,Ifbatteriesjoinedinseriesorparallelaffecttheoverall
strengthofthemagnet,thenbatteriesjoinedinparallelwouldcreatethestrongermagnet
becausejoininginparallelincreasestheamps,andthestrongerthecurrent,thestrongerthe
magnet,wasprovedcorrect.

Introduction
Forthepastcoupleofweeks,Ihavebeenstudyingwavesandelectromagnetismin
preparationforcreatinganexperimenttofurthermyknowledgeofthem.WhileIoriginallywas
goingtostudytheeffectsofamountsofironandpoweronthestrengthofthebattery,Iwas
prettysurethatsuchanexperimentwouldleavelittlespeculationonoutcomewhenithasbeen
triedsomanytimesbefore.However,whileresearchingelectromagnets,Ifoundthattherewere
differenteffectsbasedonhowyouconnectedbatteries.AsthiswassomethingIhadno
previousknowledgeon,Ifigureditwouldbethemostworthwhiletoaddress.
Withinthetopicofelectromagnetism,thereare,asthenameimplies,twopartsinthe
creationoftheeffectelectricityandmagnetism,which,asJamesClerkMaxwelltheorized,are
twosidesofthesamecoin.Anelectriccurrentisthetransferofchargedparticles,whichinthis
case,andasmostcommonlyseen,iselectronsalongawiremagnetsbeingofcoursepiecesof
metalinwhichtheparticlesofsaidmetalalignthemselvesinanexternalmagneticfield.By
passinganelectriccurrentthroughawirecoiledaroundaferromagneticmetal,italignsthe
affectedatomsinawaythatcreatesamagneticfield.AccordingtoChrisWoodford,inanarticle
titled
Magnetism
,
thestrengthofanelectromagnetdependsontwomainthings:thesizeofthe
electriccurrentyouuseandthenumberoftimesyoucoilthewire.
Assuch,whenthecurrentis
terminated,themagneticfieldvanishes,whichiswhatsetsitapartfrompermanentmagnets
(thatremaininaconstantstateofmagnetism,notinducedbyanelectriccurrent),andwhat
makesitsuchavaluabletoolintodaysworld.Ithinkitisveryimportanttolearnhow
electromagnetswork,astheyarecontinuingtobecomemorepopularinmodernusage.
QuestionandHypothesis:

Question
:Inthecreationofanelectromagnet,wouldtwobatteriesjoinedinseriesorparallel
createthemosteffectivemagnetinregardstogreatestoverallstrength?
Hypothesis
:Ifbatteriesjoinedinseriesorparallelaffecttheoverallstrengthofthemagnet,then
batteriesjoinedinparallelwouldcreatethestrongermagnetbecausejoininginparallel
increasestheamps,andthestrongerthecurrent,thestrongerthemagnet.

Methods&Materials
Materials:
5
Dcellbatteries
1
(3in.)ironnail
90+
paperclips
2
ft(minimum)insulatedcopperwire
1
rollofpacking(orsimilar)tape

Procedure:
1. Createtheelectromagnetusingonebatterytoactasthecontrolvariable:
a. Startingfromthemiddle,coilthecopperwirearoundtheironnaileighttimes
b. Tapeonesideofthewiretothenegativesideofthebatterysothattheothercan
beconnectedbyholdingthewiretothemagnetwithyourhand*
2. Connectthemagnetbypressingtheunattachedendofthewiretothepositivesideof
thebattery,thuscreatingacurrent
3. Allowthefirstpapercliptobestucktothemagnet
4. Disconnectthemagnetbyreleasingthewirefromthepositivesideofthebattery
5. Hangasecondpaperclipontothefirstone
6. Reconnectthemagnet
7. Allowthetwopaperclipstobestucktothebattery
8. Disconnectthemagnet
9. Continuereconnecting,testingtheweight,anddisconnectingthemagnetuntilthe
magnetcannolongerupholdtheweightoftheaccumulatedpaperclips
10. Recordhowmanypaperclipsitcouldhold
11. Repeatsteps1through10withthenexttwobatteriesjoinedinseries:
a. Tojoinbatteriesinseries,connectthenegativesideofonebatterytothepositive
sideoftheother,andoneoftheothertwoothersideswithoneoftheendsofthe
wirewoundaroundthenail,asshowninFigureA,butleavetheotherendloose
sothatitmaybemanuallyconnectedanddisconnected
b. FigureA:

12. Repeatsteps1through10withthenexttwobatteriesjoinedinparallel:

a. Tojoinbatteriesinparallel,takeoneendofthewirewrappedaroundthenail,
andattachittobothofthenegativesides,asshowninFigureB,leavingthe
otherendloosesothatitcanbemanuallyreconnectedanddisconnectedto
b. FigureB:

13. Analyze

Note
:Ifthewiresarepermanentlyaffixedtotheendsofthebattery,thecontinuouscurrentwill
makethebatteryandwireveryhot,posingapotentialsafetyrisk,aswellasburningthebattery
outveryquickly.

Results
Ashypothesized,itwasindeedthebatteriesjoinedinparallelthatcreatedthestronger
magnet.Therewasnosignificantchangeinstrengthfromthesinglebatterytothebatteries
joinedinseries,becausetherewasnochangeincurrent,oramps.Theelectromagnetwith
batteriesjoinedinparallelwereabletoholdmorethanthreetimeswhattheothertwobatteries
could,aresultIdefinitelydidnotexpect.Ithoughtthatbydoublingthecurrent,thestrength
wouldalsodouble.Also,theiron,evenafterdisconnectedfromthetwobatteries,retainedsome
ofitsmagnetism,aneffectnotseenwhendisconnectedinthefirsttwotrials.Theseresultscan
befoundinthetablebelow:

OneofthemainchallengesIencounteredduringthisordealwasburningoutthe
batteries,orthemgettingsohotthatIwasntabletotouchthematall.Therefore,whentesting,I
couldneverbetrulysureifthebatterieswerecreatingaconsistentelectriccharge(notgetting
weakerastheexperimentwentonandthustamperingwiththedata).Becauseofthis,Ican
alsonotbesureiftheampsrecordedabovearecompletelycorrect,thatistheaveragefor
DCellbatteries,however,iftheydidnotremainataconsistentchargethroughoutthevarious
trialsoftheexperiment,thenthedatawouldhavealsobeencontaminated.Thisissue,however,
isanecessaryevilincarryingoutthisprocedureunlessonewouldusenewbatteriesforevery
paperclipaddedhighlyunlikely,asitsunnecessarytimeconsumingandveryexpensivetodo
so.


Discussion
Iconductedthisexperimenttoexplorethefinerworkingsofelectromagnets.Ifoundthat,
bytestingmagnetswithasinglebattery,batteriesjoinedinseries,andbatteriesjoinedin
parallelthatcurrentmakesbatteriessubstantiallystronger,asmyhypothesispredicted.
SurprisinglywhiledoingresearchIcameacrossseveralsourcessayingthatvoltageiscurrent,
andtoincreasethevoltagetocreatesastrongermagnet,butIclearlyprovedthatwrongby
testingthesealignments.
TheresultsIcameupwitharebynomeansascientificbreakthrough,thisisamore
unusualbutcertainlystilltriedandtrueexperimentregardingelectromagnets.Myresults,while
believable,donotinspiremuchconfidence.Tocomeupwithamoresolidanswer,Iwouldhave
hadtotesteachalignmentseveraltimestocomeupwithanaverageamountofpaperclipsheld,
andthenhadenoughpaperclipstocompletethefinalstage.
Mymainregretinthisexperimentisnottestingfortherelationshipbetweencurrentand
weightheld.HadImoreresources(andtime,forthatmatter)Iwouldhavetestednumberof
paperclipsorweights(sinceIranoutofallmypaperclipsbeforecomingtoafinalanswer
concerningthebatteriesjoinedinparallel)helddependingoncurrentsgreaterthan24amps.
Then,Imighthavebeenabletographmydataandevencomeupwitharudimentaryequation
regardingthecorrelationbetweencurrentandstrengthoftheelectromagnet,andseeifit
roughlyalignstotheonescreatedbyscientistsinthe19thcentury.

Bibliography
ReferencedinIntroduction:
"InformationAge."
ScienceMuseum
.N.p.,n.d.Web.18May2016.

Woodford,Chris."MagnetismASimpleIntroduction."
ExplainThatStuff.
N.p.,n.d.Web.14May2016.

Othersusedinresearch:
Brian,Marshall,andLanceLooper."HowElectromagnetsWork."
HowStuffWorks.
HowStuffWorks.com,1
Apr.2000.Web.14May2016.
"Electromagnet."
Wikipedia
.WikimediaFoundation,2May2016.Web.14May2016.

Coffey,Jerry."HowDoMagnetsWorkUniverseToday."
UniverseToday
.N.p.,03Dec.2010.Web.14
May2016.
TheEditorsofEncyclopdiaBritannica."Electromagnet."
EncyclopediaBritannicaOnline
.Encyclopedia
Britannica,n.d.Web.14May2016.
"TheElectromagnet."
BasicElectronicsTutorialsTheElectromagnetComments
.BasicElectronics
Tutorials,13Aug.2013.Web.14May2016.
"Solenoid."
HyperPhysics
.GeorgiaStateUniversity,n.d.Web.14May2016.