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demonstrations:5_electricity_and_magnetism:5h_magnetic_fields_and_forces:repulsion:start

Wire Attraction/repulsion

Description

Consists of a seven foot tall white wooden board with a base so it remains vertical. Attached to the top and bottom are two pairs of wires. One of them connected in series with each other, the the other in parallel. At the bottom are fixtures to attach the wires to a power supply.

Purpose

To demonstrate the formation of magnetic fields around currents and the resulting Lorentz forces, to show how wires with current flowing in the same direction attract while wires with current flowing in opposite directions repel.

Apparatus

  • Attraction/Repulsion setup (pictured)
  • High-current power supply: this or this will work.

Setup

Plug in the power supply and connect the wires to the setup. Set the supply to output 60A and turn on briefly, for no longer than 3 seconds.

Notes

Do not leave the power supply turned on for longer than 3 seconds at a time. Joule heating in the wire may begin to melt or burn the insulation.

Demo room information

Location —-
Maker Unknown
Current State Working
demonstrations/5_electricity_and_magnetism/5h_magnetic_fields_and_forces/repulsion/start.txt · Last modified: 2019/04/25 18:59 by demoroom