ELECTROMAGNETS

WHAT IS AN
ELECTROMAGNET?
An electromagnet is a magnet that runs
on electricity. Unlike a permanent magnet,
the strength of an electromagnet can
easily be changed by changing the
amount of electric current that flows
through it. The poles of an electromagnet
can even be reversed by reversing the
flow of electricity.

Electric
Symb
al
ol
Quantit Used
y
Electric
Current

Voltage

Resistan

Description

The movement of
charged particles in
a specific direction
The electric
pressure that
causes current to
flow
The opposition a

Device
Unit Used
Used to
to Express
Measure
Quantity
Quantity
Ampere
(A)
A= C
s

ammeter

Volt (v)
V= J
C

voltmeter

ohmmete

CHANGING THE AMOUNT OF

ELECTRIC CURRENT
1. INCREASING VOLTAGE
2. DECREASING RESISTANCE

FACTORS THAT AFFECT

RESISTANCE
There are three external factors that influence the resistance in a

conductor.
Thickness (cross sectional area of the wire),
length,
and temperature
all have some effect on the amount of resistance created in a
conductor.
The fourth factor is the conductivity of the material we are
using. Some metals are just more electrically conductive than
others. This however, is considered an internal factor rather
than an external one.

CROSS SECTIONAL AREA

The cross-sectional area of a conductor (thickness) is similar to
the cross section of a hallway. If the hall is very wide, it will
allow a high current through it, while a narrow hall would be
difficult to get through due to it's Cross Sectional Area
(8k)restriction to a high rate of flow. The animation at the left
demonstrates the comparison between a wire with a small
cross sectional area (A) and a larger one (A). Notice that the
electrons seem to be moving at the same speed in each one
but there are many more electrons in the larger wire. This
results in a larger current which leads us to say that the

LENGTH OF THE
CONDUCTOR

Longer wire greater resistance

Shorter wire lesser resistance

TEMPERATURELower Temperature
- Lesser resistance

Higher Temperature
- higher resistance

23.1 Electric Current and

Magnetism
Key Question:
Can electric current create a magnet?

*Students read Section 23.1 AFTER

Investigation 23.1

23.1 Electric Current and Magnetism

In 1819, Hans Christian
Oersted, a Danish physicist
and chemist, and a
professor, placed a
compass needle near a
wire through which he
could make electric current
flow.
When the switch was
closed, the compass
needle moved just as if the

23.1 Electric Current and Magnetism

Two wires carrying electric current exert
force on each other, just like two magnets.
The forces can be attractive or repulsive
depending on the direction of current in
both wires.

 If a wire carrying an electric current is formed

into a series of loops, the magnetic field can be
concentrated within the loops.
The magnetic field can be strengthened even
more by wrapping the wire around a core.
The atoms of certain materials, such as iron,
nickel and cobalt, each behave like tiny magnets.
Normally, the atoms in something like a lump of
iron point in random directions and the individual
magnetic fields tend to cancel each other out.

However, the magnetic field produced by

the wire wrapped around the core can force
some of the atoms within the core to point
in one direction.
All of their little magnetic fields add
together, creating a stronger magnetic field.
As the current flowing around the core
increases, the number of aligned atoms
increases and the stronger the magnetic
field becomes.

At least, up to a point. Sooner or later,

all of the atoms that can be aligned will
be aligned.
At this point, the magnet is said to be
saturated and increasing the electric
current flowing around the core no longer
affects the magnetization of the core
itself.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE

STRENGTH OF
ELECTROMAGNETS
1. Number of turns in the coil
as the number of turns in the coil
increases, magnetic field also
increases
2. Size of the soft iron core
- as the size of the soft-iron core increases,
magnetic field also increases

23.1 Electric Current and Magnetism

The most common form
of electromagnetic
device is a coil with
many turns called a
solenoid.
A coil takes advantage
of these two techniques
(bundling wires and
making bundled wires
into coils) for increasing

23.1 The true nature of magnetism

The magnetic field of a coil is identical to the
field of a disk-shaped permanent magnet.

23.1 Electric Current and Magnetism

The electrons moving
around the nucleus
carry electric charge.
Moving charge makes
electric current so the
electrons around the
nucleus create currents
within an atom.
These currents create
the magnetic fields that
determine the magnetic
properties of atoms.

23.1 Magnetic force on a moving charge

The magnetic force on a wire is really due to
force acting on moving charges in the wire.
A charge moving in a magnetic field feels a
force perpendicular to both the magnetic
field and to the direction of motion of the
charge.

23.1 Magnetic force on a moving charge

A magnetic field that has a strength of 1
tesla (1 T) creates a force of 1 newton (1 N)
on a charge of 1 coulomb (1 C) moving at 1
meter per second.
This relationship is how the unit of magnetic
field is defined.

23.1 Magnetic force on a moving charge

A charge moving perpendicular to a
magnetic field moves in a circular orbit.
A charge moving at an angle to a magnetic
field moves in a spiral.

23.1 Magnetic field near a wire

The field of a straight wire is proportional to
the current in the wire and inversely
proportional to the radius from the wire.
Current (amps)
Magnetic
field
(T)

B = 2x10-7
I
r

Radius (m)

23.1 Magnetic fields in a coil

The magnetic field at the center of a coil
comes from the whole circumference of the
coil.
No. of turns
Magnetic
field
(T)

B = 2x10-7 NI
r

of
wire
Current
(amps)

Radius
of coil (m)

23.1 Calculate magnetic field

A current of 2 amps
flows in a coil made
from 400 turns of very
thin wire.
The radius of the coil
is 1 cm.
Calculate the strength
of magnetic field (in
tesla) at the center of
the coil.

23.2 Electromagnets and the

Electric Motor

Key Question:
How does a motor
work?

*Students read Section 23.2 AFTER

Investigation 23.2

23.2 Electromagnets and the

Electric Motor
Electromagnets are
magnets that are created
when electric current flows
in a coil of wire.
A simple electromagnet is a
coil of wire wrapped around
a rod of iron or steel.
Because iron is magnetic, it
concentrates and amplifies
the magnetic field created
by the current in the coil.

23.2 Electromagnets and the

Electric Motor
The right-hand
rule:
When your fingers
curl in the
direction of
current, your
thumb points
toward the
magnets north

23.2 The principle of the electric motor

An electric motor uses electromagnets to
convert electrical energy into mechanical
energy.
The disk is called the rotor because it can
rotate.
The disk will keep spinning as long as the
external magnet is reversed every time the
next magnet in the disk passes by.
One or more stationary magnets reverse
their poles to push and pull on a rotating

23.2 The principle of the electric motor

23.2 Commutation
The process of reversing the current in the
electromagnet is called commutation and the
switch that makes it happen is called a
commutator.

23.2 Electric Motors

Electric motors are very common.

All types of electric motors have

three key components:
1. A rotating element (rotor) with magnets.
2. A stationary magnet that surrounds the
rotor.
3. A commutator that switches the
electromagnets from north to south at
the right place to keep the rotor
spinning.

23.2 Electric Motors

If you take apart an electric motor that

runs on batteries, the same three
mechanisms are there; the difference is in
the arrangement of the electromagnets
and permanent magnets.

23.2 Electric motors

The rotating part of the
motor, including the
electromagnets, is called the
armature.
This diagram shows a small
battery-powered electric
motor and what it looks like
inside with one end of the
motor case removed.

23.2 Electric motors

The permanent magnets are
on the outside, and they stay
fixed in place.
The wires from each of the
three coils are attached to
three metal plates
(commutator) at the end of
the armature.
commutat
or

23.2 Electric Motors

As the rotor spins, the three plates come

into contact with the positive and
negative brushes.
Electric current flows through the brushes
into the coils.

23.3 Induction and the Electric

Generator
Key Question:
How does a generator
produce electricity?

*Students read Section 23.3 AFTER

Investigation 23.3

23.3 Induction and the Electric Generator

If you move a magnet near a coil of
wire, a current will be produced.
This process is called electromagnetic
induction, because a moving magnet
induces electric current to flow.
Moving electric charge creates
magnetism and conversely, changing
magnetic fields also can cause electric
charge to move.

23.3 Induction
Current is only produced
if the magnet is moving
because a changing
magnetic field is what
creates current.
If the magnetic field does
not change, such as when
the magnet is stationary,
the current is zero.

23.3 Induction
If the magnetic field is increasing, the
induced current is in one direction.
If the field is decreasing, the induced current
is in the opposite direction.

23.3 Magnetic flux

A moving
magnet
induces
current in a
coil only if the
magnetic field
of the magnet
passes through
the coil.

23.3 Faraday's Law

Faradays law
says the current
in a coil is
proportional to
the rate at which
the magnetic
field passing
through the coil
(the flux)
changes.

23.3 Faraday's Law

23.3 Generators
A generator is a device that uses induction
to convert mechanical energy into electrical
energy.

23.3 Transformers
Transformers are
extremely useful
because they
efficiently change
voltage and current,
while providing the
same total power.
The transformer
uses
electromagnetic
induction, similar to

23.3 Transformers
A relationship between voltages and turns for
a transformer results because the two coils
have a different number of turns.

Application: Trains that Float by

Magnetic Levitation