Modulated Coil: Hear the magnet!

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Do you have an extra portable cassette tape player hanging around? This science activity demonstrates magnetic field coupling so that you can hear your iPhone music through the cassette player without even physically connecting the two!

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
5 to 10 minutes
Learning Time:
5 to 10 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
1 cent - $1 per student
Age Range:
Ages 8 - 18
Resource Type:
Activity
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • Wire stripper or knife (or sandpaper if you are using wire with lacquer insulation rather than plastic)
  • About 3 feet (1 meter) of insulated copper wire—#20 or #22 solid wire with plastic insulation works well; stranded wire with plastic insulation or thinner solid magnet wire with enamel insulation can also be used (be sure enamel insulation does not get scratched so that bare wire is exposed, except at the ends as noted in step 1 of the Asssembly section)
  • Steel bolt, about 1/4 inch in diameter and 2 inches long (nut optional) (the exact size of the bolt isn't critical)
  • Two alligator clip leads and a separate 1/8-inch phone plug (pictured) OR a premade audio cable that has a 1/8-inch phone connector on one end and two alligator clip leads on the other
  • iPhone, iPod, or small transistor radio
  • Portable tape cassette player with speaker (you may need to scour eBay, flea markets, or thrift stores for this)—if the player doesn't have its own speaker, you’ll have to wear the headphones)

Keywords

Subjects

  • Physical Sciences
    • Electricity and Magnetism
      • Electric Charges and Currents
      • Electromagnetic Fields
      • Electric Circuits
    • Vibration and Waves
      • Sound
  • The Nature of Technology
    • The Design Process
      • Invention and Innovation

Other

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  • Free access

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