How to Make a Neodymium Magnet Generator
Michael Faraday was the first to notice, in the 19th century, that a magnet creates electricity in a closed electric circuit that cuts through its magnetic field lines. Faraday noticed this by accident, during a lecture he was giving. To exploit this observation, try making a generator using thin neodymium magnets, wire, a nail and some cardboard to power a light bulb. You will spin the magnets so that their lines cross the wires, producing an electromotive force through the light bulb.
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Things You'll Need
- 1/2-foot by 2-foot piece of cardboard
- Nail
- Thinly coated copper wire
- Neodymium magnets, preferably thin
- Electrical tape
Instructions
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1
Fold a piece of cardboard over on itself four times. Create four faces at right angles with each other, with one face consisting of two overlapping ends. Make the shortest width a little wider than your magnets, because they'll need to fit inside. The width must be shorter than the nail you plan to use.
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2
Puncture roughly at the center one the cardboard's broader sides with the nail, piercing all the way through the other side as well. Leave it in to attach the magnets.
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3
Stack equal numbers of magnets on opposite sides of the nail within the cardboard enclosure. For extra stability, put two cardboard spacers between the two stacks on opposite sides of the nail. Affix the magnets to the nail with electrical tape. (Extra stability is necessary because you will spin the nail, making the stack of magnets turn.)
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4
Wrap the wire around the cardboard between 100 and 300 times. The wrapping is to be all parallel, in only one direction, and of equal amounts on both sides of the nail. Wrap near the nail (and the magnets, whose magnetic field lines are to be cut by the wire).
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5
Strip the insulation on both ends of the wire. Use a knife or scissors to scrape the coating off. Attach the bare ends to the two terminals of the light bulb, i.e., the screw threads and the metal tip. Hold the wires to the bulb with electrical tape. Light up the bulb by spinning the nail.
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