Electromagnets are pieces of metal with coils wrapped around them. When these coils are plugged into a battery a current goes around the wire and creates a magnetic field because of the metal in the center. You can then pick up magnetic metals like iron with the electromagnet. Typical magnets are always magnetic regardless of electrical current, so electromagnets are cool because you can turn them on and off. In my experiments, I tested how the number of coils the size of every coil and material the center is made out of affects how strong the electromagnet is. I tested this by seeing how many washers each configuration picked up.
First Science Fair Project – Elctromagnets!
Devin Willis 