A magnet exerts a force on current-carrying wire.

This simple device shows that when an electrical current flows through a magnetic field, a force is exerted on the current. This force can be used to make an electric motor.

4 to 6 small disk magnets. (5 minutes or [...]

You can make a magnetic field that’s stronger than the earth’s!

Compass needles are little magnets that are free to rotate. Compasses allow us to observe the direction of a magnetic field. Normally, they respond to the earth’s magnetic field, orienting themselves parallel to magnetic field lines. If we create a magnetic field that is [...]

Objective:
To demonstrate how magnets will always orient themselves towards the north and south poles.

Standards:
Light, Heat, Electricity, and Magnetism (magnets attract and repel each other and certain kinds of other materials), and Conservation of Energy and Increase in Disorder (kinetic energy, potential energy, energy contained by a field like electromagnetic energy).

Materials: [...]