Want to see a really neat way to get magnetic fields to interact with each other? While levitating objects is hard, bouncing them in invisible magnetic fields is easy. In this video, you’ll see how you can take two, three, or even four magnets and have them perform for you.
Are you ready?
Materials:
- 3 identical magnets
No, just able to interact like in the video.
Do they have to be identical
Try it! What did you find out? How can you tell which end is N or S on a magnet?
Yes!
ahhhhhhhh I’ve got the first magnet but I can’t get the second one
it should be north and north are facing each other to levitate right
can they be round magnets
I got mine at Radio Shack and a hardware store. If you go to the unit shopping list, if they are hard to find items I will also post a link where you can order them online.
where do you get those round and rectangle magnets.
we have a book that says you can put a donut magnet on a pencil then 2 magnets about 30 degrees, do that on both ends then spin the pencil it wil go for a long time
it is awesome
this was really cool
it is cool i got it to work with all the magnets i had
Oops – sorry I missed your comment about making your own permanent magnets! Yes you can, but it’s REALLY hard and uses an intense heat source (not something you’ve have around the house) and a lot of patience to get the atomic domains to line up to form the magnetic field.
It’s a lot easier to take a strong magnet (rare earth work well) and stroke it along the length of an iron material, like a nail, screwdriver, or scissors to make a magnet. It’s not going to be nearly as strong, but you can do it. Did you see the instructions on how to make a permanent magnet NOT a magnet?
You can use different ones, though it’s usually easier if they are the same as shown in the video. Try it and let me know how it goes!
Can you use two of the same type of magnets and one different, or do you need three of the same type?
i have got to admit that is a good idea
Aurora, got a question…. Is there a way to make a magnet? I mean like a permenant magnet! Not with a nail like a REAL magnet!!!! It would be cool if we could make magnets 🙂 pppppplllllllllleeeeeaaaaassssssseeeeee 😀
Pretty please with science everywhere 😛
Raena (Age 10)
Yea!
Okay thanks. I got it to work now! 😀
-Charli(7th grader)
You might be able to if you turned them so a north faces up and the south points down. Keep trying! Science is like this sometimes… 🙂
My magnets are where the entire side is north and the other entire side is south. So that won’t work???? :/
-Charli(7th grader)
This one takes a little patience, as I am sure you are finding out. The location of the poles is important for the project. I used these magnets from Radio Shack, because each pole is on a large, flat side (if you lay the rectangular magnet flat on the table, the top part is one pole). The top surface is north and the bottom side is south. Other magnets have one entire end (both top and bottom of one half of the magnet) is north and the other is south, which won’t work for this project. What kind do you have?
Aurora!
I can’t get it to work! 🙁
I’ve tried 3 different shapes and sizes many times.
Plz help. 🙁
-Charli(7th grader)