Making an electromagnet
A soft iron core inside a current-carrying coil.
Iron in a coil
A piece of soft iron is placed inside a coil of insulated copper wire. Then a current flows in the coil.
What happens to the piece of soft iron?
What this lesson covers
The idea
The strong magnetic field inside a solenoid can magnetise a piece of magnetic material, such as soft iron, placed inside the coil; the magnet so formed is an electromagnet.
Iron in a coil
A piece of soft iron is placed inside a coil of insulated copper wire. Then a current flows in the coil.
What happens to the piece of soft iron?
- It becomes a magnet
- Nothing happens to it
- It starts carrying current
Build one
Press Next step to build the electromagnet.
Coil plus iron
The coil makes a strong field inside. The soft iron in the field becomes a magnet. A magnet made like this is an electromagnet. It has a core of soft iron with a coil of insulated copper wire wrapped around it.
The strong magnetic field inside a solenoid can magnetise a piece of magnetic material, such as soft iron, placed inside the coil; the magnet so formed is an electromagnet (a core of soft iron wrapped with a coil of insulated copper wire).
Notes
An electromagnet is a soft iron core wrapped with a coil of insulated copper wire; the field of the coil magnetises the soft iron.
Check yourself
A piece of soft iron is placed inside a current-carrying solenoid. The strong magnetic field of the solenoid…
The magnet formed when soft iron inside a current-carrying coil is magnetised is called…
An electromagnet consists of…
- magnetises the soft iron — correct. Yes!
- melts the soft iron. The field of the solenoid magnetises the soft iron. It does not melt it.
- leaves the soft iron unaffected. A strong magnetic field inside a solenoid can magnetise a piece of magnetic material such as soft iron.
- a solenoid. A solenoid is the coil itself. The magnet formed with the soft iron is an electromagnet.
- an electromagnet — correct. Yes!
- a circular loop. A circular loop is a single turn of wire. The magnet formed with the soft iron is an electromagnet.
- a coil of insulated copper wire with nothing inside. A coil with nothing inside is a solenoid. An electromagnet has a soft iron core inside the coil.
- a core of soft iron with no coil around it. An electromagnet needs the coil of insulated copper wire wrapped around the soft iron core.
- a core of soft iron wrapped around with a coil of insulated copper wire — correct. Yes!