Inventor's Lab MAKE AN ELECTROMAGNET
Electricity has fascinated inventors for centuries. You can experiment with electricity, too—all you need are simple materials.
MATERIALS
- » A large nail— about 3 inches long
- » 3-4 feet of plasticcovered copper wire
- » A new D-size battery
- » Some paper clips or other small metal objects
- » Gloves
Leave about 8 inches of wire loose at one end and wrap most of the rest of the wire around the nail. Try not to overlap the wire. Cut the wire (if needed) so that there is about another 8 inches loose at the other end, too. Strip off the plastic at each end of the wire.
Wear your gloves for the next part—the battery and metal get hot!
Attach one wire to one end of the battery and the other wire to the other end of the battery. You have just created an electromagnet! Put the point of the nail near a few paper clips, and it should pick them up!
Electromagnets run on electricity. The electricity flowing through the wire arranges the molecules in the nail so that they are attracted to certain metals.