How to Stop an Electromagnet From Heating Up

Electromagnet
••• lpmpjogja.diknas.go.id/kc/e/electro_magnet/el...

An electromagnet is an artificial device that does everything a magnet can do and more. They are particularly useful because they can be made to have any field strength desired and to grow stronger or weaker or even turn off. They are essentially just coils of wire wrapped around a metal core and hooked up to a battery. Although they are easy to make at home, they can have a problem with overheating if they are given more voltage than their wires can handle. Fortunately, with careful design, this problem can be avoided.

    Multiply the diameter of your electromagnet (the distance from one side of the coil to the other) by 3.14. Multiply this figure by the number of turns in the coil you are using. This will give you the length of wire your electromagnet will use. If you measured the diameter in inches, this will be the length in inches. If you measured the diameter in centimeters, this will be the length in centimeters.

    Look at the wire gauge resistance table and select a wire gauge at random. Look at the number of ohms of resistance that gauge of wire has per foot, meter or your chosen measurement unit. Multiply this by the length of wire your electromagnet will require. The resulting figure will be the number of ohms of resistance your wire will have at that gauge.

    Divide the voltage of the battery you intend to use by the resistance of the wire you are considering. The result will be the current that will flow in that wire when it is hooked up.

    Compare this figure to the maximum current rating for that gauge wire on your current rating wire gauge table. If the current your electromagnet will draw is greater than the maximum that gauge is rated for, start the calculations again but with a lower gauge wire. The lower the gauge, the wider the wire and the greater the current it can carry. Repeat this process until you find a gauge that will safely carry the current your device will produce without overheating.

    Things You'll Need

    • Calculator
    • Wire gauge resistance table
    • Wire gauge current table

    Tips

    • The greater the number of coils your electromagnet has, the stronger the electromagnet will be. The higher the battery voltage, the stronger the electromagnet will be. The width of your electromagnet depends on what you want your electromagnet to do.

Related Articles

How to Strengthen an Electromagnetic Field
How to Increase the Strength of an Electromagnet
How to Calculate the Size of a Cable
Factors That Affect the Strength of an Electromagnet
Four Factors Affecting Electromagnets
How to Calculate Amperage Draw
How to Calculate the Inductance of a Coil
How to Calculate LED Power
How to Create a Powerful Magnetic Field
How to Calculate the Winding of a Transformer
How to Reverse the Poles on a Magnet
How to Measure Amps or Watts With a Multimeter
How to Calculate the Length of Cable on a Drum
How to Create an Electromagnetic Field
How to Calculate Volume in a Wire
How to Calculate the Magnetic Force of a Solenoid
How Are Magnets Used to Generate Electricity?
How to Calculate Motor Current With Winding Resistance
How to Calculate the Force of an Electromagnet
How to Make a Step Down Transformer

Dont Go!

We Have More Great Sciencing Articles!