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Electromagnetism

S

SsZERO

Banned
I've got a few Qs regarding magnetism, and electromagnetism. First of all, what determines the strength of an electromagnet's field? An electro magnet is basically coils of wire wrapped around an iron or steel core, the more coils, the more powerful the magnet...but would increasing the voltage increase the power of the field? For example, say I needed a magnet to lift 500 lbs of metal...it won't lift it...would upping the voltage make the magnetic field more powerful? How about using a low current/high voltage setup...would I be able to make an electromagnet that uses an inverter like a stungun to generate quick bursts of powerful EM field?

And is there some way to create a magnetic field that will repel ferrous metals rather than attracting them?

-= SsZERO =-
 
Current is the key. Magnetic field strengh, given a constant coil, will vary with the current. Since Voltage and current are related increasing the voltage will increase the current therfore the Magnetci field. A low current high voltage arrangement would not do well for an electomagnet.


No, ferrous materials will be drawn into a magnetic field. If you magnetize the iron it will simply align itself before getting drawn in.

They do make magnetic levitation motors, which rely on opposing magnetic fields to suspend objects for a nearly frictionless motor. I believe there is a train system which works on this principle.
 
Is there any reliable way to boost current? I would need the magnet to generate a really powerful field, but not for extended periods of time.

-= SsZERO =-
 
I made a Railgun when I was in college. We used 4000' of magnet wire ( super thin wire that uses spoxy paint as the insulator ) around a plastic tube. We found that using 240v instead of 120v just about cut the power in 1/2. We were pulling 58 amps with 120, and 29 with 240. Amperage does the work, not voltage.

For those of you who were wondering, we were able to shoot a nail ( without the head ) through a brick. 🙂

<edit>
Oh, and just so no one is scratching their heads right now, it was DC not AC 🙂 AC would actually pull the nail from one side to the other. that was kinda cool, but that's how we melted the first tube 🙂
</edit>
 
Hey, I read your other post about making a megawatt EMI pulse bomb. 🙂 Good stuff!

Well, current is quantity of electrons per unit of wire, voltage is the rate of flow. So I guess more electrons = more magnetism. I want to make a railgun too. What gauge was the wire you used...almost a mile of wire, man, how much did that thing weigh? How did you fire the railgun? Was the nail at one end of the tube, and then current was supplied for a few ms? Anyway, my primary interest in electromagnets is using them to provide power for robots with legs.

-= SsZERO =-



<< I made a Railgun when I was in college. We used 4000' of magnet wire ( super thin wire that uses spoxy paint as the insulator ) around a plastic tube. We found that using 240v instead of 120v just about cut the power in 1/2. We were pulling 58 amps with 120, and 29 with 240. Amperage does the work, not voltage.

For those of you who were wondering, we were able to shoot a nail ( without the head ) through a brick. 🙂

<edit>
Oh, and just so no one is scratching their heads right now, it was DC not AC 🙂 AC would actually pull the nail from one side to the other. that was kinda cool, but that's how we melted the first tube 🙂
</edit> >>

 
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