G+_Luke Militello Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, Bryan Burnett, I just finished watching episode 125 and in regards to the magnetic train; it's not too far off from how the LHC works, only with the train, the moving mass provides the power. Don't be a "Bojo", get more power and you'll have a battery collier on your hands! With that being said, it reminded me of another cool E&M trick. First, take a piece of small gauge wire (18-20AWG or so), cut it and put tension on it making it very taunt. Then, line both sides with stationary magnets. Next, measure the length of the wire from point-to-point in the spot that is taunt. Do some quick math and find the proper frequency wavelength for said length; 300Hz for 1M is a good starting spot. Finally, use a signal generator and send a SIN wave down it at that frequency; sit back and watch it dance/cycle at said frequency. To add more fun, keep sweeping up at 2f, 3f, 4f, etc. intervals for the frequency; dividing the wavelength (a.k.a. harmonics). But take care as the higher frequencies will produce more heat from motion at the ends causing the wire to eventually snap, whip back and hit you. Also, keep the voltage low, just a couple volts should do. Otherwise the wire will burn up from not being able to dissipate the heat/wattage being generated; remember the wire will have a very low resistance. I should mention here that increasing the voltage is proportional to wavelength amplitude. It might be fun to see this on the show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Luke Militello Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 You can also play with saw tooth, square and other wave forms or even lower frequencies. However, your mileage may very if it does anything but destroy the setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jeff Brand Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 More simple electrical motion fun: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homopolar_motor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Luke Militello Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 They should dedicate a single episode to E&M fun! Experiments like these are what kids these days need to get involved in math and science. Today's youth have all these new mobile gadgets, yet most have no clue how they work; they just expect them to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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