6.8 and 6.9 Electromagnets

6.8 Recall that an electric current in a conductor produces a magnetic field round it.

6.9 Describe the construction of electromagnets

Passing an electric current through a conductor (e.g. a copper wire) produces and magnetic field known as an electromagnet. The advantage of having an electromagnet rather than a permanent magnet is that an electromagnet can be turn off simply by stopping the current in the conductor. You can also increase the strength of a electromagnet by increasing the current in the circuit or by increasing the number of coils around the iron core.

To construct a simple electromagnet coil insulated copper wire around a soft iron core and apply a current through. The video below demonstrates this: