Lucian's 4th grade science project!

1. The
Levitation
of
Objects
Using
Magnetic
Repulsion
Lucian
Parisi
Bungalow
A
May
19,
2011
Purpose
I
have
designed
an
experiment
to
see
how
much
weight
a
magnet
can
lift.
I
already
know
that
magnets
fly
apart
when
they
repel.
Magnets
repel
when
the
same
type
of
pole
faces
each
other
(north
to
north
or
south
to
south).
History
and
Background
People
in
ancient
Greece
and
China
discovered
that
magnets
attracted
to
iron.
However,
scientists
did
not
manage
to
explain
how
magnetism
worked
until
the
mid-­‐1800’s.
The
region
around
a
magnet
where
the
force
of
magnetism
can
be
felt
is
said
to
contain
a
magnetic
field.
Magnetic
fields
are
invisible.
In
1824,
scientists
discovered
that
you
could
create
a
magnet
by
wrapping
a
coil
of
wire
around
ordinary
iron.
This
is
called
an
electromagnet.
A
magnetic
levitation
train,
also
called
a
maglev
train,
is
a
vehicle
that
uses
magnetic
force
to
float
above
a
fixed
track
without
touching
it.
The
train’s
speed
is
not
limited
by
the
friction
or
vibration
that
contact
with
a
track
would
cause.
Maglev
trains
use
electromagnetism
to
produce
a
repulsive
force.
A
maglev
train
is
a
real-­‐life
example
of
my
experiment.
Hypothesis
Something
I
am
curious
about
is
when
magnets
repel,
and
they
are
made
sure
not
to
fly
off
in
a
random
direction,
what
will
happen?
I
hypothesize
that
they
will
be
able
to
hold
up
a
small
amount
of
weight.
Since
magnets
have
a
strong
enough
force
to
repel
themselves
away
from
each
other,
they
should
be
able
to
lift
something
up.
1

2. Experiment
Design
This
experiment
requires
magnets
to
be
placed
so
that
their
same
poles
face
each
other,
making
them
repel
and
lift
an
object.
To
keep
the
magnets
from
flying
off
in
a
random
direction,
I
use
a
clear
plastic
tube
and
circular
magnets.
That
way,
when
the
magnets
repel
they
will
levitate,
and
if
the
hypothesis
is
accepted,
they
will
also
lift
the
object.
The
constants
in
this
experiment
are:
 The
tube
material
 The
size
of
the
tube
 The
type
of
magnet
 The
type
of
object
to
be
levitated
 The
procedure
used
The
manipulated
variable
used
is
the
number
of
magnets
on
top
and
bottom.
The
responding
variable
is
the
weight
lifted.
To
measure
the
weight
lifted,
I
will
put
penny
rolls
into
to
the
tube
until
the
two
groups
of
repelling
magnets
are
forced
to
touch.
Using
a
kitchen
scale,
I
weigh
one
of
the
penny
rolls
and
multiply
the
weight
of
a
single
roll
times
the
number
of
rolls
held
up.
Materials
Number
Item
1
36
in.
clear
plastic
tube
(1
in.
diameter)
18
Circular
magnets
(1
in.
diameter)
15
Penny
rolls
1
Kitchen
scale
1
Magazine
(to
put
under
tube)
2

3. Procedure
1. Using
the
kitchen
scale,
weigh
one
penny
roll
and
record
the
result.
2. Place
the
plastic
tube
in
front
of
you.
3. Get
six
magnets
and
split
into
two
equal
groups
of
3
each.
4. Place
the
magnets
into
the
tube,
making
sure
they
repel.
5. Drop
penny
rolls
inside
the
tube
until
the
magnets
are
forced
to
touch.
6. Record
how
many
penny
rolls
it
took
to
force
the
magnets
to
touch.
7. Do
steps
3-­‐6
again,
using
6
magnets
on
top
and
bottom,
9
magnets
on
top
and
bottom,
and
12
magnets
on
top
and
bottom.
Measurements
and
Results
The
following
table
and
graph
show
my
measurements.
Number
of
Penny
Rolls
(Weight)
Magnets
Lifted
6
9
(42
¾
oz.)
12
11
(52
¼
oz.)
18
13
(61
¾
oz.)
24
15
(71
¼
oz.)
Weight
(oz.)
Results
80
70
60
50
40
Weight
(oz.)
30
20
10
0
Number
of
6
12
18
24
magnets
3

4. Conclusion
My
hypothesis
was
accepted.
Magnetic
force
is
very
strong
–
stronger
than
I
expected.
I
was
expecting
that
six
magnets
could
only
hold
up
one
penny
roll.
However,
they
held
up
many
more.
I
conclude
that
magnetic
repulsion
can
levitate
objects.
For
future
experiments,
I
could
try
using
the
same
experiment
design
to
make
a
projectile
and
see
how
far
it
will
go.
Or
I
could
try
the
original
experiment
with
larger
objects
and
more
magnets.
4