Fun Experiment for Kids (and grown-ups who like cool stuff)

Archive
1

Saw a video of this on Youtube, and knew that I had to do the experiment with my boys (8 and 11):

It’s called a homopolar motor, and you can make one with just a AA battery, one or more neodymium magnets, and a loop of solid copper wire. Simple and fun.

The first bit of the video is the wire loop made by my youngest, based on a template I drew up in Inkscape and printed out. Made it a lot easier to get an even loop. The second part is a spiral I made…doesn’t spin quite as smoothly, but it’s a cool visual.

More details at the video link.

4 Likes
2

I’ve seen a little experiment with batteries too:

p.s.
Kids: don’t try this at home :naughty:

3 Likes
3

This is a great example of how engineering and product design are critical. I’ll be using this one. Thanks!

4

@ wbsimms - I’ve seen this with a way bigger Li-Ion battery on German TV yesterday:

It was even more impressive, but there is no video about this online.