Build a Motor

Start with a "Beakman's" motor. (instructions included below)

Materials: C battery, 3 meter length of magnet wire, two paperclips, sandpaper, small permanent magnet, tape

See this site from Oklahoma State for a description of the "Beakman" motor.

Advance to building a two pole motor with no permanent magnets. This will be scored based on its efficiency. (instructions with pictures included in file below)

Explore the factors that effect the speed.

Try parallel and series combinations of the armature and field coil.

Test what happens when you hold permanent magnets near the field coil.

Be careful - don't re-magnetize the compass the wrong way.

Materials: nails, electrical tape, angle brackets, magnet wire, base material, sand paper, nice to have but not required: solder, soldering iron

Testing equipment: compass, wires and clips, multimeter, power supply (up to at least 3 amps), strobe with RPM indicator