Simple Motor with Magnets

[lcourter]

Hi! Tried this experiment with my son. I purchased batteries from Amazon so they were a different size but the same N42 rating. We could not get this to work. We tried D size batteries, different magnets we had on hand, tried changing the amount of magnets used and nothing seemed to work. It's so frustrating. I cannot figure out where we went wrong. We followed the experiment to the letter with the exception of the magnet size We are considering picking a different topic all together. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[bfinio]

Hi lcourter,

Can you provide a link to exactly which project you're trying? We have several different projects about building simple motors so it will help to know which one you're doing. If you're doing this project:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... background

one thing I can think of is that it's very important to buy BARE, or uninsulated, copper wire. Some copper wire has clear insulation on it that is almost impossible to see, but it will prevent electricity from flowing so the motor won't work at all. Did you buy the wire we link to from Amazon, or did you get it somewhere else?

-Ben

[cumulonimbus]

Hi Icourter,

In step 7 of "preparing the experimental setup," are you using all magnets with the same polarity? If not, that could be the cause of the trouble. Other than that, as bfinio suggested, it could be a problem with one of your materials. I hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Elena