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Simple Motor Experiment

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Electricity

• Much like water, electricity– Flows between points (From + to – on a

battery)– Can be shut off– Can be stored– Can be used

• The steady flow of electricity is called current (water also has current)

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Electricity

• Electricity has the equivalent to water pressure– Think of the pressure as voltage (potential to

push electrons between two points)– Actual current movement is measured by

amperage– Like a big pipe can move lots of water, thick

wires can carry a lot of voltage

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Magnets

• How many students have played with magnets?

• How many students know what an electromagnet is?

• Aren’t magnets fun!?!?

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Electromagnetic Concepts

• Coulomb’s Law (1785) – Two kinds of charge, positive and negative. Like charges repel and unlike charges attract.

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Electromagnetic Concepts

• Carl Fredrich Gauss – One magnetic pole cannot exist without another, equal and opposite pole.

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Electromagnetic Concepts

• Andre Marie Ampere– Ampere’s Law – If current flows through a

wire, it will generate a magnetic field. The strength of the magnetic field is directly related to the amount of current that flows.

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Check Your Supplies

• Materials– Sanding block– Coated Copper Wire– 1 Battery– One large magnet– 2 Paperclips– 1 Rubber Binder– 1 Cardboard Square

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Step 1: Create the Coil• Wrap the copper wire around the pipe or battery five times,

leaving one to two inches of wire on both ends of the coil.• Wrap the loose ends around the coil so they are parallel

with each other• Sand one loose end of the wire completely• Sand half of the other loose end.

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Step 2: Bend the Paperclips

• Bend the paperclips to this shape

• Secure the paperclips to both ends of the battery with the rubber binder

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Final Product

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References

• Beakman’s Motor– http://fly.hiwaay.net/~palmer/motor.html