Originally posted by delius:
Okay perfesser. Speaking of simple & basic, I've always wanted to know something: that "electromagnetizm" you speaketh of.... how does it work? Ya know... like... what causes EM forces? Sure, we know they're there but... what creates the energy? Why is the strength of an EM field what it is? Why does it decrease with the square of the distance from the charge? Why do the fields of multiple charges add the way they do? Or why is the field of a point charge radial? Oh. And in your treatise of how EM fields work, try not to fall in love with your own words and go over 200. Thanks, knew ya could! 
Since a course on this subject and the theory behind it is clearly outside the scope of this forum, I'll do something better, and more useful. I will give you a simple, repeatable experiment that will demonstrate how electromagnetism works.
Take a length of commonly available insulated 20 gauge solid copper wire and wrap 10 turns around a #16 framing nail. Ensure that there is a close fit in the wraps and that the nail can still move freely within the coils.
Connect a small dry cell battery (1.5 volt should be enough) to the ends of the wire. Slowly insert the nail into the coil. Note that you feel a force pulling the nail.
Disconnect the battery and try 20 turns. Now repeat with 100. Try two batteries in series with 10, 20 and 100 turns.
This concludes our measurable demonstration of the effects of EM.
Your turn - you now have two tasks queued.
Previous Topic
Index
