Friday, February 17, 2012

Electromagnetism

Magnets are any materials that attracts iron, or any materials containing iron. The magnetic poles of a magnet are the points on a magnet that have opposite magnetic qualities. These are the north and south poles. Magnets also have magnetic force, it is the force of the attraction or repulsion generated by moving or spinning electric charges. Every magnet has it's own magnetic field which exists in the region around a magnet in which magnetic forces can act.


Electromagnetism is the interaction between electricity and magnetism. This could be explained by Hans Oersted's experiment. A coil of wire that produces a magnetic field when carrying an electric current is called a solenoid. The strength of the magnetic field of a solenoid increases as more loops per meter are used.  An electromagnet is a coil that has a soft iron core and that acts as a magnet with an electric current in the coil. The magnetic field of a an electromagnet is the field of the solenoid plus the field of the magnetized core. Thus, the magnetic field of an electromagnet may be hundreds of times stronger than the field of just the solenoid.

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