Reviewer: Build a Motor Activity 

Topic: Magnetism 

Figure 1 Magnetism
Magnetism ​is the study of magnetic fields and their effects on materials. This effect is
due to unbalanced spin of electrons in atoms, and is readily observed everyday- from
the simple magnet that attracts nails and other metals.

Nature of Magnetism 
Magnetism is a force like gravity and the strong and weak forces inside the nucleus of an
atom. Magnetic forces pull and push objects by generating the so-called magnetic field.

 
Properties of Magnets 
1. Magnets have the ability to attract materials that are magnetic in nature
If you dip a small bar magnet into iron fillings, you will notice that the iron fillings
become attracted to the ends of the magnet. The forces of attraction are
produced by the ends of the magnet, the north pole and the south pole, called
magnetic poles. The attraction is strongest at the poles and weakest at the
center.
Some materials are magnetic; others are not​. A magnetic material is one which
can be magnetized and is attracted to magnets. All strongly magnetic materials
contain Nickel iron or cobalt. they're ferromagnetism. There are materials that
are described as hard magnetic or soft magnetic materials. The difference
depends on how well they keep their magnetism when magnetized. Example
steel, which is a hard material and iron, which is a soft material. Steel is difficult
to magnetize, however it does not does not readily lose its magnetism. Iron is
relatively easy to magnetize but its magnetism is only temporary.
Non-magnetic materials include metals such as copper, zinc, aluminum, tin and
brass. Non metals are also nonmagnetic because as the electron spins, they move
about the nucleus. A spinning electron has a magnetic effect as it spins. Each
atom therefore acts like a tiny magnet with both a north and south pole. In an
unmagnetized material, the atomic magnets point in random directions, but a
magnetized material, more of its atomic magnets line up with each other.
Magnets can be demagnetized​, their atomic magnets are thrown out of line by
hammering it or by heating it to a high temperature.
2. Like poles repel and unlike poles attract each other
If you move the north pole of a second magnet toward the north pole of the
suspended magnet, the suspended magnet will move away. However, the south
pole of the second magnet will attract the north pole of the suspended magnet.
 3. When allowed to hang freely, magnets always align in one particular direction
Whenever you suspend a bar magnet by a thread, the north pole of the magnet
will point toward the north pole of the earth and the south pole will point toward
the south pole of the earth. This is because the earth itself is a giant
magnet.However, since opposite poles attract each other, the north pole of the
bar magnet must be attracted to the south pole of the earth’s magnet. This
means that the magnetic south pole of the earth is located near the earth’s
magnetic north is near its geographic south.
4. Magnetic poles always occur in pairs
The force of magnetic poles behaves like the force of electric charges. However,
unlike electric charges, magnetic poles cannot be separated from each other.
Magnets always have two opposite poles. If you break a magnet in half, each is
still a complete magnet with two poles, north and south.

Magnetic Fields 
➔ A magnetic field is a region in which magnetic fields can be detected. magnetic
fields can be investigated using a small compass and magnetizable materials like
iron fillings. A compass consists of a tiny magnetic needle that spins around when
placed near a magnet. Spinning stops when the north- seeking pole and the
south-seeking pole of the needle become oriented toward the north and south
poles of the bar magnet.
➔ This can be used to illustrate the magnetic fields around the magnet. The lines
are called magnetic field lines. The number of magnetic field lines per area is
called magnetic flux.
 Figure 2 Magnetic Field of A Magnet

Electromagnetism 
➔ Electricity and magnetism were never thought of as being related to each other
for many years. However, a Danish physicist, chemist, and philosopher, ​Hans
Christian Oersted (1777-1851) ​made an interesting observation
➔ In 1820, Oersted observed that when a compass was brought near a current
carrying wire, the compass needle did not point north but got deflected to
another direction.

Figure 3 Magnetic effect of Electric Current

➔ When the flow of current was disconnected, it no longer affected the compass
and its needle now turned to the north. Oersted concluded that the point of a
compass needle would follow a magnet. This led him to think that when an
electric current flowed through the wire, the wire acted like a magnet and
electricity can somehow produce magnetism.
➔ Oersted’s discovery paved the way for the invention of new gadgets using the
principles of electromagnetism.

Uses of Electromagnetism 
Magnets can produce motion. They can move together or move apart, depending
on how their poles are arranged. Electric current in a wire produces a magnetic
field similar to that of a magnet. And so a magnet can move a wire, as it would
move another magnet. This shows that the interaction between electricity and
magnetism can cause something to move.

Figure 4 Motor with rotating Coil (From Activity)

Electric Motors  
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. It is a device
that uses electric current to turn an axle. A loop of current carrying wire spins
continuously in a motor.

How does a Motor work? 

A simple direct current (DC) electric motor contains an electromagnet, a
permanent magnet and a commutator. An electromagnet , called an armature​, is
placed in a magnetic field of the permanent magnet. The poles of the armature
rotate away from the like poles of the permanent magnet. Since like poles repel
each other, the armature continues to rotate.

Figure 5 DC Motor
The part which reverses the flow of current through an electric motor is the
commutator. It consists of two parts of a ring. Each half is attached to one end of
the loop of wire. As it moves, the commutator slides past two contact points
called​ brushes. ​The brushes connect the commutator to the current source.
 

Current meters 

➔ are devices which measure electrical current. In these devices, there is a

response of magnetic force between an electromagnet and a permanent magnet.
These meters include ​the galvanometer, the ammeter, and the voltmeter.

➔ The galvanometer ​measures the small amounts of electric current. The rotation
of a loop of a wire in a magnetic field is the basis for this device.

Figure 6 Galvanometer

➔ The two springs are connected to the rod through the electromagnet. The
electromagnet controls the pointer of the galvanometer. When an electric
current passes through the electromagnet, its poles are repelled by the poles of
the permanent magnet. The moving electromagnet works against the sprints to
move the pointer. The repelling force between the electromagnet and the
permanent magnet determines how far the magnet moves. The direction of the
 current through the electromagnet determines whether the pointer moves to
the right or to the left of the center which is marked zero on the galvanometer.

➔ An ammeter is a galvanometer with parallel resistor connected in series with the

load to measure the current passing through it.

Figure 7 Ammeter diagram

➔ A ​voltmeter is a galvanometer with series resistor and connected in parallel with

the load to measure the voltage across it.

Figure 8 Voltmeter diagram

Electromagnetic Induction 
➔ Magnetism can also be used to produce electricity. This fact is essential in
today’s massive generation of electricity by power plants. The process is called
electromagnetic induction.
➔ Oersted who first showed that electric current can produce magnetic fields. His
discovery was put into mathematical forms by three French physicists who
extended his work: ​Jean- Baptiste Biot (1774-1862) , Felix Savart (1791-1841)
and Andre Marie Ampere. ​But during this time, scientists began to wonder if
they could reverse the process, that is, use a magnetic field to produce an electric
current. Three physicists, ​Joseph Henry (USA), Micahel Faraday( UK) and
Heinrich Friedrich Lenz (Russia)​ worked individually to test this hypothesis.

➔ Michael Faraday began to experiment with magnets and current carrying wires
at the Royal Institute of London in 1831. His observations includes the following:

1. When he thrust a magnet into a coil of wire, current was induced in the coil while
the magnet was moving relative to the coil. Moving the magnet away from the
coil caused the galvanometer to deflect in the opposite direction.
2. Moving the magnet toward the coil had the same effect as moving the coil
toward the magnet; only the relative motion was important. It was summarized
as ​Faraday’s Law

➔ Joseph Henry published the results of his work in 1832. He explained that a
charging electric current in a coil can induce another current in the same coil. As
a result, the current in the same coil consists of two components, the initial
current plus the induced current. This effect is known as ​inductance.
 ➔ Heinrich Friedrich Lenz extended understanding of the induction of currents by
stating a related law. Lenz’s Law states that the direction of an induced current is
such that its own magnetic field opposes the original change in magnetic flux that
induced the current.

➔ The work of these three famous physicists made possible the process of
electromagnetic induction. There are some ​important concepts to understand
electromagnetic induction:

1. It occurs any time motion takes place between the wire and the magnetic field
2. The results are the same when the wire moves, when the magnetic field moves,
or when both move
3. The speed of the motion affects the strength of the electric current; a weak
current is produced when the movement of the wire is slow and a strong current
is produced when the movement is fast.
4. The number of loops in the wire affects the strength of the voltage; a larger
number of loops means a stronger voltage induced.
5. Any changing magnetic field will induce a current

Uses of electromagnetic induction 

Many useful devices are built using the principle of electromagnetic induction. Two of
the more important devices are the ​generators and transformers.
Documentation of Types of Motors: 

 
Motor with Rotating Magnet

1.0 Testing the rotating magnet 2.0 Preparation of the materials

Magnet with Rotating Coil

3.0 Preparation of materials 4.0 Testing of Magnet with coil

Motor with Rotating Frame

5.0 Preparation of materials 6.0 Testing of Magnet with frame