Electromagnets

It’s simple to make a small electromagnet of your own. All you need is a battery and some wire, and a compass to show the magnetic pull.

Take an ordinary AA or D battery and connect a piece of wire to run from the plus (+) side to the negative (-) side. Place the compass near the wire. You should see that the needle moves away from North, and points in the direction of the wire. This is a sign that the wire is magnetized. Don’t leave your wire connected for more than a minute, because the battery will drain very quickly. As soon as you take the wire off one end of the battery, the compass needle will return to normal.

You can make a much stronger electromagnet by twisting the wire around a pencil a number of times. It should now be able to pick up a paperclip. You can experiment with more twists, or winding the wire around a metal nail. Have fun!