Q&A for How to Make an Electromagnet

If you're lucky, you would only blow a fuse or trip a circuit breaker. You might receive a shock or be electrocuted. Batteries supply direct current (DC). Household sockets supply alternating current (AC). Even if it were safe to do so, which it is not, plugging the magnet into AC would not give the desired effect. The north and south magnetic poles would change places with each other at a rate of 60 times per second or 60 Hz. Thus there would be no net magnetic field produced.

You can do this by adding more turns to the wire around your metal, or you can add a higher voltage battery.

Aluminium does still conduct electricity so it will work, but it is not as well as copper. Do not plug anything into the mains that was not specifically designed for that.

Electromagnets are used all the time in electronics. For example, speakers use electromagnets to create sound (this is a very simplified explanation).

Yes. An iron core (large bolt) and massive amounts of wire. The risk, of course, is that the wire will get very hot.

Yes but it has to have a winding as well of some other conductive material, such as copper, aluminum, silver, etc. A nail is just iron usually, thus there is no reason a nail wouldn't work. It probably won't be all that effective though.

If you are going to add more layers of wire around the core, make sure that all the layers go in the same direction. Namely, if the first layer was left end to right end, clockwise, so should all new layers be.

No. Turning off the power supply (or turning off of the switch) cuts the power to the coil, meaning there is no electricity flowing through the coil. Without the electrical current, there is no magnetic field.

Yes, although electromagnetic waves will be slower under water.

It will still work. You can use 1.5 volt or 9 volt. The volt will actually be better

No, copper won't work well as it's not as magnetic as iron. Try to use an iron nail, screw, or bolt.

The higher the voltage on the battery, the more electricity your electromagnet will receive.

Yes, but it can be dangerous, so I do not recommend it.

Electromagnets do not require a minimum voltage. A simple 1.5V battery (normal household battery) is enough. In theory, any amount of voltage, causing any amount of DC current should be able to create an electromagnet. If you want one that is decently strong, use a 6V (connect 4 batteries in series).

Not necessarily. If you are using a battery as shown in the instructions, it is safe to touch any part of the device. Furthermore, you should understand that the nail has no access to electricity and has just been converted to a magnet. In other words, the nail is a magnet and isn't conducting electricity, hence it is safe to touch.

Yes, but it won't be as effective as one with copper. Copper conducts electricity better than aluminum.

An iron tube won't conduct electricity as well as a solid iron core, such as a nail or screw.

Check to make sure the copper wire is tightly wrapped around the piece of iron, and also check to make sure the ends of the wire have been stripped of insulation and are firmly attached to the battery.

You could use another type of wire, but copper wire is cheap and conducts electricity better.

You can take a 8 - 10 mm rod, and copper wire size is minimum SWG 35.

I don't think you can do it at all with AC current, it has to be a steady stream of power.

Since you're using the copper wire and piece of iron to create a magnetic field, you're essentially making your own magnet. If you use a magnet you already have, you don't need to make your own.

The electric cell is the DC power source that supplies the electric current to create the magnetic field.

If you use aluminum wire, you won't have as much electric current being carried through as you would when you use a copper wire.

Lower the power or use fewer wraps of wire. This way, the magnet will only pick up the lighter items and not the heavier items.

You need to remove a bit of the insulation so that when you connect the ends of the wire to the battery, it will conduct the electricity. If you leave the insulation, electricity will not travel through the wire to the nail.

It depends on the battery voltage. A car battery could last a very long time, while a AAA battery would only last a few weeks.

Yes. Choose a wire thick enough to accommodate the higher voltage, and perhaps a larger nail or rod, too. I used two 12V adapters to produce a 24V current, which produced a fairly powerful magnet.

Your screwdriver tips must be made of a ferromagnetic material (iron, nickel, cobalt); aluminum will have only a very mild magnetization, and many stainless steels won't at all. If you have the proper tip, all you need to do is hold it against a magnet of any type; even a kitchen magnet will work.

Yes, but iron will work better as it has a higher conductivity than steel. Steel's conductivity percentage is 3-15% compared to iron's 17% (pure).