Magnets

Magnetic Ink Character Readers (MICR) are tools for banks to process checks and other financial documents automatically. Banks, credit unions and other institutions print financial documents such as…

Besides light, water and nutrient-rich soil, plants get help from gravity to grow. The roots of plants grow toward the pull of gravity while the plant itself grows away. Place the seed in any…

Decoupage involves adding decoration to an object by gluing or sealing on paper or fabric. Decoupage as a decorative art form began in 1700's Italy. Using a slightly watered-down glue and adding…

Some experiments can be done with a magnet and cork to help kindergarten children understand magnetism on a basic level. Magnets have two poles, north and south, and attract the opposite pole in other…

Electricity and magnetism have fascinated man for centuries. Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment convinced people that lightning was electricity gone wild. Magnets have also been studied for…

Iron filings can be used in many science experiments involving magnets and electric currents. The filings are light enough to react to electrical currents, allowing students to see the patterns…

Iron is unique in it's ability to become magnetized by the excitation of an electric current. If you wrap a battery-attached wire around an iron nail, the current in the wire interacts with the nail's…

Chalkboards are an educational tool used by teachers from elementary school through doctorate programs. Sometimes, instead of writing on the actual chalkboard, teachers cover the chalkboard with other…

More than 2,500 years ago, ancient people in Europe and the Middle East discovered magnetite (or lodestone) which had the unusual ability to orient itself on a north-south axis when allowed to rotate…

Isopropyl alcohol, or rubbing alcohol, is a colorless, flammable liquid that has a distinct sharp smell and evaporates quickly at room temperature. People use isopropyl alcohol for various purposes…

Reactions in living systems require the presence of catalysts called enzymes. These are protein in nature, colloidal and secreted within the cells but capable of acting outside the cell of origin,…

A magnet is a material that produces a magnetic field through alignment of magnetic domains. Magnetic domains are tiny regions in the material that behave like magnets. Each domain has a north and…

Permanent magnetism is a property that either occurs naturally or can be induced in iron, cobalt and nickel or alloys that include one or more of these metals. This property is more formally known as…

Louis Pasteur, a French chemist, found that plant life was affected by magnets in the year 1862. He concluded through a set of experiments, that the Earth's electromagnetic field stimulated plant…

If you are trying to teach your children about magnetic attraction, you might experiment with different frequencies of attraction by purchasing several magnets -- or using magnets from your…

Magnets and magnetism have been fascinating to humans for many years because of the seemingly invisible force they exert on each other and other items. Magnets and their properties are essential to…

Most people know that magnets attract metal, but if you're conducting a science project or want to impress your friends, you can also create the reverse effect. Magnets work by aligning the electrons…

A typical iron nail is not magnetic -- at least not to a degree that is easily detectable. More precisely, an iron nail has the potential to become magnetized. An iron nail can be magnetized when…

A magnet is a material or object that is able to produce a magnetic field, which will attract it to metal objects. Though the magnetic field is invisible, it has varying strengths. There are many…

You can temporarily magnetize a steel needle, or any other material that contains iron, using a standard magnet. A magnet contains an invisible force field with a north and south pole that allows it…

Basically two types of magnets exist: permanent magnets and electromagnets. Permanent magnets do not use any external force to produce a magnetic field, while electromagnets use electrical energy to…

A bar magnet is a straight piece of metal that attracts other objects because of its magnetism. Its two ends are usually referred to as poles. One is called the north pole, often marked with an "N,"…

Magnets get their power of attraction from their atomic structure. One important part of a magnet's atomic structure is its domains. However, materials that are not magnetic also possess domains. One…

Many materials have magnetic properties and an ability to be magnetized. Two classes of materials with magnetic properties are paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials. These materials have natural…

Magnetizing an iron nail is simple to do. Magnets get their power of attraction through electrons within the magnet that spin and create tiny magnetic fields called dipoles. The dipoles combine into…

Paranormal science projects are not typically seen at science fairs. Projects of this type might not taken seriously among some members of the science community, and some people might expect you to…

Bare copper wire is great for teaching educational experiments to your children. You can make a simple battery using a lemon, copper wire and a couple of other items or you can make an electromagnet…

Ghost hunting is possible with help of ghost webcams. Ghost cameras capture paranormal activities or record ghosts in allegedly haunted places. Ghost cameras can record activities in pitch-dark places…

Skim milk agar plates are used to provide a nutritious medium for growing micro-organisms. Once prepared, the agar can be plated with a population of micro-organisms to test for the micro-organism's…

Alnico magnets are hard, permanents magnets that are created artificially from alloyed metals; at one time, they were among the strongest permanent magnets commercially available. The name "alnico" is…

Under certain conditions, permanent magnets are not always permanent. Permanent magnets can be made nonmagnetic through simple physical actions. For example, a strong external magnetic field can…

Magnets are demagnetized by disrupting a magnet's domains. A magnet's domain consists of groups of spinning electrons inside a magnet that creates tiny magnetic fields. When domains are arranged in a…

The Earth is a giant magnet that has magnetic north and south poles. These poles create a magnetic field that surrounds the Earth. A compass needle is a small bar magnet and points north because the…

Disturbing the domains of magnets means demagnetizing the magnets. Only a few methods exist to disturb the domains of magnets. These methods range from simple and safe to complex and potentially…

Room decorations help students to focus on the topics taught, add interest and reinforce key themes. Most classrooms have at least one bulletin board, but older rooms may lack wall space to adequately…

Magnets are atomic powered. The difference between a permanent magnet and a temporary magnet is in their atomic structures. Permanent magnets have their atoms aligned all the time. Temporary magnets…

Many household items and objects encountered in daily life operate in magnetic fields that occur as the result of electricity moving through metal conductors. Electromagnets differ from the simple,…

Hands-on learning is an excellent way to teach scientific concepts. Projects that demonstrate the difference between permanent magnets and temporary magnets are easy and inexpensive to create.…

Teaching small children about invisible forces challenges both the instructor and the students. One way to teach them about magnetic fields is to show what the field can do. Magnets have poles and the…

Experiments with magnets are hands-on ways to learn about scientific concepts such as electromagnetism, transfer of energy and magnetic pull. Simple materials, most of which can be found around the…

Iron filings and bar magnets work together to make an amazing demonstration of magnetic fields. When they are separated by a piece of paper or a sheet of Plexiglas, the filings align with the magnetic…

Electricity and magnetism are linked by the principle of induction. Passing an electric current through a coil of wire creates a magnetic field inside the coil due to the motion of the electrons along…

Electromagnets have various applications that people use everyday, from electronic products to industrial uses. The history of electromagnets can be traced back to 1820 when Hans Christian Oersted…

Color spectrum science projects are an engaging way to teach children about colors and light. The most basic of these experiments show how combining primary colors can make the colors of the rainbow:…

Students are probably well aware of the names, and probably some of the properties, of the different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, but they may be unaware of their relationships to one…

All magnets have a north and a south pole. Placing the opposite poles of two magnets against each other will cause them to attract to each other, while placing the same pole of two magnets against…

Magnets can present a wide variety of fun, educational activities for children. One reason for this is because they are so appealing on their own -- they stick together and repel one another as if by…

The concept of a magnet is easy for most children to understand: some objects stick to a magnet, others do not. You can tell students that magnets attract materials that contain iron. But showing them…

Electricity is the flow of electrons. ElectroMotive Force (EMF) is the pressure that makes the electrons flow. This pressure is measured in volts. The actual number of electrons flowing is measures in…

Essentially, an electromagnet consists of a soft iron core and turns, or windings, of electrically conducting wire. Increasing the size of the core, the number of windings and the level of current…

Teaching children about magnets can easily be done in a hands-on and entertaining way. Magnets are some of the few subjects in science that children can safely play with and explore at a very young…

You can readily see the Northern Lights in darkness near the North and South Poles. In North America, the Lights, also called auroras, can be viewed rarely, sometimes once a year, on a dark night and…

Cytospinning is a method used by microbiologists to get cells ready for microscopic viewing. Cytospin protocol is a step-by-step standardization of cytospinning procedures and is part of the process…

A magnet is any object or machine that is surrounded by a magnetic field. Common household magnets are permanent magnets made from iron or mixtures of metals and ceramics or rubber. Children can learn…

A magnet uses its magnetic field to exert force on other objects, such as nickel and steel. It responds to other magnetic fields, like that of the Earth or from another magnet. A magnet's force is…

A magnet is any device that is able to produce a magnetic field by arranging, in orderly lines, unpaired electrons. Magnets can occur in nature or be synthesized by man, and they are most often…

An ampere, or amp, is a measure of electrical current equal to 1 coulomb of charge per second. An amp meter measures the current in a circuit by detecting the flow of electrons in some manner. One…

An ammeter, or amp meter, measures the flow of electrons in an electrical circuit. Accurate amp meters are commercially available, but you can make your own simple amp meter as an electronics…

Cryosectioning is a procedure that involves freezing tissue sections that have been fixed in a chemical such as paraformaldehyde. After the section is sufficiently frozen, you can then cut it to the…

The first commercial magnetic levitation (maglev) monorail was built in 2004 in Shanghai, China. A maglev uses strong magnets, without wheels, to literally float along the track. Passengers in China…

Metals make up the majority of the elements found on the periodic table. Because of the ability of the electrons in metal atoms to travel freely from atom to atom, metals have several special…

Alternating current, or AC, provides the majority of electrical power to homes and businesses. It works by rapidly alternating the direction of electrical current. You can generate AC by rotating a…

The Xylotex company manufacturers small stepper motors and motor controllers for robotics and automated machinery. These motors are adaptable to a variety of applications, including automated milling…

A magnet's strength is measured in Gauss or Tesla, which indicate the strength of the magnetic flux. A Gaussmeter, also known as a magnetometer, gives a reading of the magnetic flux in units of Gauss…

Properly oriented magnets stick together so tightly that even the force of gravity cannot pull them apart. The reason for this phenomenon lies in the peculiar electronic properties of magnetic…

A magnet is used to attract or repel another object. It uses its magnetic field to apply these forces to other objects. As The Science Bus Experience explains, the Earth is a big magnet due to the…

The ability to stop, start and adjust their power levels set electromagnets apart from standard magnets. Even if we narrow the focus of "new" technology to any technology in development since the year…

Experiments with magnets appeal to children of many ages. Invisible magnetic forces amaze children by "magically" moving metal objects before their eyes. Demonstrate attraction, repulsion, and…

Magnets can keep children entertained for a long time. The way they sometimes stick together and sometimes move away from one other seems like magic to young children, so magnets are a useful tool to…

Domestic alternating current (AC) electrical circuits consist of two current-carrying conductors. One is positive or "hot" and has a constantly changing potential difference -- difference in…

A stepper motor converts electrical pulses into specific rotational movements. The shaft of a stepper motor moves a precise number of degrees in response to each pulse; by controlling the pulses, it…

Paranormal activity is a subject of great interest for many people, and ghosts are more than just stories. An array of scientific instruments can be used to measure the presence of spirits and bridge…

Learning the rules of grammar and figurative language does not have to be a bore. A creative approach toward these skills can include an interactive study of poetry. A magnetic poetry game…

Every magnet has a north and a south pole. If you hold two bar magnets close to each other, they will either snap together or push apart, depending on the alignment of the poles. Like poles repel and…

In the United Kingdom, education is required for 5 year olds to 16 year olds. Schools are ranked by the KS system, with 7 to 10 year olds falling in the KS2 category. One of the basic premise of…

Kinetic watches harness the power of the user's wrist movement to keep ticking. A kinetic watch runs without the the user winding it and without the need for a battery.

A ferrite clamp, or ferrite choke, is a device used to reduce the amount of RF (radio frequency) noise, or interference, in a wire that conducts electricity. Ferrite clamps are typically used to…

The term "magnetic board" is a misnomer. Magnetic boards aren't actually magnetic, but made with metals such as iron that attract magnets. Magnetic darts, refrigerator magnets and any other…

At first glance, a stepper motor looks extremely complicated. In all actuality, it is a very simple device. Relying on the age-old principle of electromagnets turning on to attract a permanent magnet,…

LB agar (Luria Bertani) is a nonselective nutrient medium used to cultivate a large range of nonfastidious microorganisms. Agar has excellent properties conducive to laboratory work, including its…

Jean Bernard Leon Foucault invented the first gyroscope. From that invention came a magnetic gyro wheel toy sold in toy stores. These toys are also called rail twirlers often sold under the brand name…

Neodymium is a rare, metallic element often used in the construction of magnets for woofers. There are many benefits offered by neodymium woofers that give them advantages over other types of woofers.

Pearlite (or perlite) and ferrite (or limonite) are names used for two different minerals. The difference between pearlite and ferrite can be seen in their physical features and how they are used.

Magnetic tapes, a type of secondary storage media, were used extensively in the mid-1980s for storing large quantities of data. They had numerous advantages: they were the first mass storage devices,…

There are two different types of magnetic striping. One is a phenomenon that appears on the ocean floor; the other is a method of encrypting data on plastic cards.

Magnets attract each other or metal through electron attraction. Due to heat or stress, this attraction gets weakened over time. You can realign the electrons in the magnet to strengthen them. One…

Every material reacts differently to magnetic fields. The particular types of reactions materials exhibit when magnetic fields are introduced make up each material's magnetic properties. There are…

Magnetic storage uses the principles of magnetism to capture and store data. According to PCMag, a magnetic read/write head makes tiny reversals in polarity on a magnetic storage medium to write the…

Children are slates just waiting to be filled with knowledge and learning experiences. The natural fascination for magnets combined with a child’s love of trucks can provide an excellent…

An electromagnet is a device in which an electric current flows through a conductor or a wire and produces a small magnetic field around the wire. You can generate a stronger magnetic field by using a…

Diamagnetic objects create a magnetic field opposing any magnetic field surrounding it. Objects such as graphite, pyrolitic carbon, frogs and humans are diamagnetic. Superconductors are extremely…

Many physics toys can easily be made using household and otherwise easily-obtainable supplies. The spinning cylinder and coil motor are two such toys. The spinning cylinder involves a mysterious…

Digital data is stored on optical and magnetic storage devices. Compact disks (CDs) are optical storage devices. A laser (concentrated beam of light) reads the data stored on an optical storage…

Nickel (Ni) is a shiny, silvery-white metal, with the atomic number 28. It occurs naturally in a number of minerals and is well known for being ductile, corrosion-resistant and ferromagnetic, or…

Magnets are objects with a strong magnetic field. Magnetic fields are caused either by charged particles or by magnetic forces found in some objects. Magnets have two poles, north and south. Like…

There are a number of factors that can make a given element magnetic. To properly understand these factors, you need to look all the way down at the atomic level. If you take a single atom of an…

Isopropyl alcohol (or isopropanol) is a widely-available alcohol that can be used in multiple applications. The types of isopropyl mixtures that are commercially available under the label "isopropyl…

Magnetic materials attract substances made from iron, and they also also attract other magnets. Places on the magnet that produce magnetic forces are called poles, and they are either north or south.…

Permanent magnets are magnets with magnetic fields that do not dissipate under normal circumstances. They are made from hard ferromagnetic materials, which are resistant to becoming demagnetized.…

To make a magnet repel a metal, one must first understand the properties of a magnet. A magnet has two poles, a north pole and a south pole. When magnets are placed near each other, opposite poles…

A horseshoe magnet attracts iron and metal objects. Magnets produce a magnetic field and, over time, may start to lose their strength. There are a few ways you can charge a horseshoe magnet to restore…

A magnetic white board derives its name from its magnetic surface. You can attach sheets of paper to the board with magnets or purchase a variety of lightweight, magnetic objects to stick to the…

Many different types of lightbulbs require the use of a ballast to properly function, but there are only a few different types of ballasts available to consumers. Each type of has practical…

All magnets have an area of influence around them called a magnetic field, which influences all objects within its sphere. Appliances, such as TVs and computers, can produce distorted results because…

Magnetic particle testing, sometimes called an MT process, is a nondestructive means for detecting a discontinuity in a ferromagnetic material. In other words, it tests certain elements for their…

Bioimaging uses imagers such as microscopes and scanners to visualize dead or living cells, tissues or whole organs and organisms, in various settings, including hospitals in disease diagnosis and…

Monocytes are a type of mammalian white blood cell that can be activated to secrete many proteins known as cytokines. These perform diverse activities such as bacterial cell recognition and signaling…

Monocytes are a type of mammalian white blood cell that can be activated to secrete many proteins known as cytokines. These perform diverse activities such as bacterial cell recognition and signaling…

Fun magnet experiments demonstrate basic principles that apply to physics, geology, engineering and other scientific disciplines. All magnets have north and south poles. Similar poles repel, while…

A magnetic resonance imager, or MRI machine, is a popular type of magnetic scanner. They are commonly used in hospitals throughout the world and have many applications. Magnetic resonance imagers use…

Something is considered magnetic when it can either attract or repel other magnetic objects. Magnets are characterized by their atomic composition, with their electrons aligning so that the positive…

Magnets are object that contain a level of magnetism. Magnetism refers to the ability to attract or repel other magnets. Something is considered magnetic when the electrons of the object align…

An object is considered to be magnetic, or magnetically charged when the electron particles of an object all point in the same direction. Magnets have two sides or poles, the north pole is positively…

Most people are familiar with some of the uses of magnetic fields and forces. Magnets can be used to see inside a person's skull with medical technology, they can be used to create an electric current…

Your refrigerator door, the motors in the washer and dryer, the front doorbell, and the stereo speakers in the family room all have something in common. They all rely on magnets to function. There are…

A magnet is an object that contains the materials needed to create a magnetic field. There are two sides to every magnet: the positive side and the negative side, also known as the North or South…

Exploration with magnets is a fun way to teach scientific concepts to kids. Hands-on activities put the kids in charge of drawing conclusions about how magnets work and interact with other materials.…

About 400 years ago, a physician named William Gilbert published "De Magnete" (in English, "On the Magnet"), a study of magnetism. It offered the first rational explanation of the magnetic properties…

A permanent magnet is an object that exerts a magnetic field without the use of electricity. An electromagnet is not generally magnetic without an electrical current. Both types of magnets have…

Magnets are objects that can exert a force on other materials made out of steel, iron or nickel. Magnets have two points where they will exert the most force on other objects. These points are the…

Magnets are objects that produce magnetic fields. There are only a few materials on earth that produce their own magnetic fields. However, there are some materials such as iron, that can be…

Typically, your locker is the only piece of personal space you have to yourself at school, work or the gym. Since you practically have free rein over the space, you have the option of decorating it to…

The physical-science curriculum in the younger grades often includes the understanding that magnets repel and attract one another. However, students can learn more than this in their interactions with…

Magnets fascinate children because of the interesting properties they contain. To children, the forces they possess--pushing and pulling on each other, sticking to some objects but not to…

To understand what a digital-to-analog converter, or DAC, is, you have to first understand what digital and analog mean. Analog is a smooth, continuous signal like a sound wave. Tapes and record…

An ammeter measures the electrical current in a circuit. The earliest design is known as a moving-coil ammeter and contains a coil of wire that moves in a magnetic field. This movement is then…

The strength of a magnetic field is measured in units of mass / (electrical charge x time) and its standard unit of measure is the tesla (T). A tesla is defined as 1 kilogram / coulomb second and a…

Most magnets today are made from alloys. Some of the most common alloys are aluminum-nickel-cobalt, neodymium-iron-boron, samarium-cobalt and strontium-iron. In order to magnetize the alloy, the alloy…

Magnetization is a measure of the density of magnetism and may be calculated from the number of magnetic moments in a given volume. Magnetic moment is a measure of the direction and strength of a…

Lockers do not need to be boring and drab. When you have a locker at school, it can be fun to make it an extension of yourself and place part of your personality in it. Making a locker say something…

The wonders of science never cease to amaze. For those of us who are easily impressed, magnets still exert a tremendous force on us. Though students are aware of what happens when you chase one magnet…

A neodymium magnet is among the strongest magnets on earth, with some being able to hold up to 1300 times its weight. It is used in many industries and applications, and is relatively cheap.

Neodymium, which was discovered in 1885 by Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach in Austria, is an element of the rare earth metals group. This very strong metal was extracted by the electrolysis of salts.…

An electro-magnet has advantages over a permanent magnet in that it may be turned on and off at will. It can be used in a science class to demonstrate the movement of electrons in a wire and to…

Around every atom, there are electrons. Each electron spins, or moves up or down in direction. Usually electrons orbit in pairs, with one electron spinning one way, and the other spinning in the…

An EMF detector, or EMF meter, reads electric and magnetic fields. Until recently, EMF had been a relatively low-key topic of discussion, but two separate cultural phenomenon have brought EMF to the…

It is the fourth grade science experiment that puts real power in the hands of the students. Nothing explains magnets and magnetic fields as well as a little hands-on effort. With just a few, simple,…

Making magnets is a great science teaching assignment for younger students. Use a small steel object that is safe for small children, such as a paper clip.

Manufacturers make permanent magnets by exposing certain special materials to a strong magnetic field. The field pulls on the molecules, causing their charges to align and produce a magnetic field of…

Since my students already have name magnets, I use these to teach them how to graph. Graphing is an important mathematical standard--and having these easily movable magnets comes in handy. Here is how…

Magnets are known for their ability to attract certain metals, but they can also repel. Magnets have a north and a south pole. If two north poles or two south poles face each other, the magnets will…

When a moving magnetic field passes through a conductor, it generates electric current. By moving a magnet very quickly through a coil of wire, a generator can produce a continuous current. Homemade…

A magnetometer is a device for measuring magnetic fields. The earth generates a magnetic field that permeates the entire planet, but many other things can affect this field. Electronic appliances,…

A magnet attracts iron because the iron particles in a steel magnet align in north/south directions and are then able to react with a piece of iron. Make a permanent magnet with information from a…

Electromagnets are some of the most important components of modern electronics. Electric motors, switches, TVs and countless other devices depend on electromagnetism to work. Building your own…

The Secret to life is in using The Law of Attraction to obtain anything you desire. The Law of Attraction simply states that whatever you want in life can be obtained by "asking, believing, and…

I use my name/face magnets for several different things in the classroom. Not only do I use them for a discipline system, but I also use them to keep score for several different games the kids play in…

The trains of tomorrow will be faster, quieter and smoother. Why? It's because they won't have to rely on fuel to propel them, rather the wave of the future is the MAGLEV, or magnetic levitating…

Two particles, for example two hydrogen atoms, are pushed along a circular tube by magnetic forces. The two particles are spinning around the circle in opposition to one another but do not touch as…

The refrigerator is the message center in most homes. Covered with notices, art work and other reminders, it is a scrapbook in progress, documenting the life of the family. But what do you do when…

The Curie point is the temperature at which metals lose their magnetic properties. It is named after the famous French scientist, Pierre Curie. The Curie point of nickel is low enough that you can…

Believe it or not, iron-fortified breakfast cereals really do have bits of iron metal in them. If you have to see it to believe it, try this easy experiment. You can pull the tiny iron pieces right…

Nuclear magnetic resonance is the science behind how magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) works. This science will still be a mystery to you by the time you finish this short article, but it will give you…

You want to know what is going on when you use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), whether you're a patient or part of the medical support staff. Safety, appropriate use and structural knowledge are…

Have you ever wondered how to extract iron from sand? Extracting iron from sand is a great physics experiment for children of all ages. Learn to extract iron for use in chemistry experiments or just…

With a few household items, you can make a compass. Do this project with your child and make learning science fun.