Electromagnets
1 guided lesson · 9 checks · 6. Magnetism and Electromagnetism → Magnetism and Electromagnetism
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Building and using an electromagnet
An electromagnet is a coil of wire — often wound on a soft iron core — that becomes a magnet only while current flows through the coil. Its poles swap when the current reverses, its strength responds to the current and the number of turns, and the on/off switch is what makes it so useful.
What you know already
Wind a coil, add a soft iron core, switch on the current — and you own a magnet with an off switch. This note covers the construction of electromagnets, the polarity flip when the current reverses, and the two levers — turns and current — that set the strength.
Key points of understanding
- An electromagnet is constructed from a coil of wire carrying a current.
- The coil is often wound around a soft iron core to strengthen the field.
- The electromagnet behaves as a magnet only while the current flows.
- Reversing the current swaps the positions of the electromagnet's poles.
- More turns on the coil and a larger current both strengthen the electromagnet.
Electromagnets are made up of a coil of wire wrapped around an iron core
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1.Building and using an electromagnet
An electromagnet is a coil of wire — often wound on a soft iron core — that becomes a magnet only while current flows through the coil. Its poles swap when the current reverses, its strength responds to the current and the number of turns, and the on/off switch is what makes it so useful.
Electromagnets are made up of a coil of wire wrapped around an iron core
Key points
- An electromagnet is constructed from a coil of wire carrying a current.
- The coil is often wound around a soft iron core to strengthen the field.
- The electromagnet behaves as a magnet only while the current flows.
Guided content from the SME authoring corpus — note rn_QFkHfwY9Brn5bhq8, pinned at 6312d659ec0d · promoted SyllabAI/syllabai-resources b3caaaa90c5e