The attraction and repulsion of magnets produces entrancing, unpredictable motion.

Patterns of order can be found in apparently disordered systems. This pendulum – a magnet swinging over a small number of fixed magnets – is a very simple system that shows chaotic motion for some starting positions of the pendulum. The search for order in [...]

This experiment shows how your doorbell works.

A coil of wire with current flowing through itforms an electromagnet that acts very much like a bar magnet. The coil will magnetize an iron nail and attract it in a remarkably vigorous way.

40 feet (12 m) of insulated bell wire.

Iron filings will trace out the lines of a magnetic field in three dimensions.

Iron filings will line up parallel to a magnetic field, making the pattern of the field visible. This is a simple Snack to build – and because the filings are trapped in a bottle, they don’t make [...]

Objective
To learn how to build a simple electric motor and to determine which motor design produces the fastest rate of spin.
Introduction
So, what do windshield wipers, CD players, VCR’s, blenders, ice makers, computers, and talking toys have in common? They all contain electric motors! In fact, if you walk through your house, it is possible to [...]

Materials Required

Thin wire
A long nail = 10p is a good size (10P = 10-penny – 3-inches, the size of the nail *)
Two 1.5 volt D-cell batteries, AND/OR a 12-volt lantern battery
Wire cutter
Masking tape
A “knife” switch [...]