Get Your Science On: Mag Nuts
Katie shows up how to build Mag Nuts, a simple experiment with a magnet and hardware nuts.
What’s Going On
The nuts are made of magnetic steel, and when in the presence of a strong magnet, they will become magnetized. The magnetic field stays fairly consistent near the magnet. However the magnetic force strength depends on the change in the magnetic field, so that magnetized nuts will actually preferentially stick to each other rather than the magnet.
Materials
- Large ceramic magnet (we bought a 6″ x 4″ x 1″ ceramic block magnet from Amazon.com)
- Metal magnetic materials (such as steel nuts)
- Felt or other material to cover the magnet (optional)
How to Build
There’s not a whole lot of assembly to do on this one. We covered the ceramic magnet with felt attached with hot glue in order to protect the magnet. Put the nuts on top of the magnet and get your science on!
