Moving On To Magnets

C and F Blocks had their last exam for the electricity unit today and jump on the magnetic bandwagon tomorrow. F Block will be working on a lab that focuses on both permanent magnets and electromagnets, which we'll discuss in class during this chapter and C Block will have their discussion about permanent magnets.

That's what B and E Blocks did today. We looked at the nature of magnets, magnetic forces and fields during lecture and spent time discussing properties of permanent magnets. Tomorrow, the focus will be electromagnets. Both types of magnets generate forces and fields and are generated by moving electric charges. However, electromagnets have an "off" switch and permanent magnets do not. The lodestone we examined today will remain magnetic unless some extreme event occurs, such as extreme heat or a strong physical blow. Electromagnets can be turned on and off by initiating or eliminating a current source and their strength can be modified by modifying factors such as the size of the current, the number of coils of wire making the magnet and the core that lies within those coils. All topics for tomorrow...