Levitating Magnets Floating Isn t Just for Magicians



Levitating Magnets: Floating Isn't Just for Magicians


Abstract


Objective


In this science project you'll discover how to place magnets so they either attract or repel one another and then use that information to levitate a magnet.


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Imagine people's surprise when they came across the first magnet! It must have seemed like a magic stone to them—able to make tiny pieces of iron rise up and slide around by some invisible force. The earliest records of magnets are from the Chinese and the Greeks who both wrote of lodestones, which are naturally occurring stones that attract iron. Today we know that lodestones contain magnetite, a naturally occurring magnetic material. Through experimentation and observation, both the Chinese and the Greeks eventually began to use these magnetic lodestones to make compasses to use for navigation at sea. But it took until the 1600's before major scientific understanding of magnets occurred. And scientists are still discovering more and more about magnetic principles today!


One of the most basic and important features of magnets is that when allowed to rotate freely on a piece of string, they always align themselves so that one end faces the North Pole and the other end faces the South Pole, these two ends are referred to as the north and south poles of the magnet. By aligning the poles of two magnets in different combinations, the magnets will either be attracted, (pulled closer to one another) or repelled (pushed farther apart from one another). To learn more about magnets, check out the Science Buddies Electricity, Magnetism, & Electromagnetism Tutorial.


Magnets are used in a wide variety of household objects, including headphones, televisions, computer disks, and refrigerator magnets. Recently, engineers have used magnets to create maglev (short for magnetic levitation) trains. These maglev trains use the attractive and repellant nature of magnets to levitate or "float" above the tracks, rather than use wheels. The first commercial high-speed maglev train, located in Shanghai, China, began transporting people in December of 2003. It averages 250 miles per hour!


In this science project you'll conduct two experiments. In the first experiment you'll discover how to place two magnets in order to create a repellant force and an attractive force. Then you'll use that information in a second experiment to make your own magnetic levitation system.


Terms and Concepts



  • Magnet

  • Force

  • North pole

  • South pole

  • Attract

  • Repel

  • Maglev train

  • Levitation


Questions



  • What do magnets do?

  • How are magnets used in everyday life?


Bibliography


This website contain general information about magnets and what they are used for.