Materials You Will Need:

• Energizer_® Power Pack
• Small, non-metallic bowl
• Number 20 nail
• Thumbtacks
• (1) 6" piece and (1) 2-yard piece of number 22 insulated copper bell wire with approximately 1" of insulation stripped off all ends
• Switch or alternate commercial knife blade switch
• Paper clips

Please Read Carefully!

All experiments use safe, low-voltage battery power. Household electrical current contains high voltage that could cause serious injury. DO NOT use household electrical current for any of these experiments. ALL experiments should be conducted under adult supervision.

• Carefully follow wiring instructions for each experiment. Improper wiring can result in battery leakage and/or rupture.
• DO NOT take a battery apart. Contact with internal battery material can cause injury.
• DO NOT dispose in fire, recharge, put in backwards, or mix with used or other battery types. This may cause batteries to explode, leak and cause personal injury.

Steps to Make an Electromagnet:

1. Wind about 100 turns in the same direction, overlapping layers of wire around the nail.
2. Connect one wire end to the switch.
3. Connect the other end to the positive (+) lead wire of the Energizer_® Power Pack.
4. Connect remaining wire from switch to negative (-) lead wire of the Energizer_® Power Pack.

Close switch. Try to pick up tacks and clips with nail. What happens?

Open switch. Again, try to pick up tacks and clips. What happens?

You can increase your electromagnet's power by making more wire turns around the nail or by increasing the current. See Oersted's Experiment.