Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi i'm doing a science project which is "Does The Size of the Battery Affect How The Coil Spins?" I'm using C battery,
AA battery, AAA battery, AAAA battery, and D battery. And i'm making a motor.But I want to know if it's dangerous to use diffrent kinds of batterys for my project and it may heat up the motor or something, Please I need a reply my science project is almost due.
http://00.edu-cdn.com/static/science-fa ... magnet.png

Hello,
That's a great question, it's always important to think about safety before you start a project. When you complete your motor (with any of the different battery sizes you are planning to use), there will be current flowing through it which can heat up the magnetic wire, so it is important to be careful.
Here's a safety step from the "Build a Simple Motor" procedure:
If current is flowing (even if your motor isn't turning), the magnetic wire will feel warm, or even hot, after it has been connected to the source (battery) for a short period of time. You might even smell a burning smell. Give the axle a small push so the coil shifts and falls out of the support. Let it cool down for a moment before testing again.

Good luck with your project and let us know if you have any more questions.

kmyers2040 wrote:Hello,
That's a great question, it's always important to think about safety before you start a project. When you complete your motor (with any of the different battery sizes you are planning to use), there will be current flowing through it which can heat up the magnetic wire, so it is important to be careful.
Here's a safety step from the "Build a Simple Motor" procedure:
If current is flowing (even if your motor isn't turning), the magnetic wire will feel warm, or even hot, after it has been connected to the source (battery) for a short period of time. You might even smell a burning smell. Give the axle a small push so the coil shifts and falls out of the support. Let it cool down for a moment before testing again.

Good luck with your project and let us know if you have any more questions.

Thank you so much for replying but I have a question? Should I make multiple motors for each battery or should I use the same motor but change the battery will I have the same results.

I think you could set up your experiment either way, and it should not change your results. Since you are going to be changing the battery size, you will want to keep everything else in the motor the same for each trial. That might be a little easier if you construct just one motor and then change the battery. One of the things that can be a little tricky with this experiment is getting the wire stripped at the end, so if you do decide to build multiple motors, you still might just want to use the same magnetic wire for each.
If you are going to build just one motor, you might want to adjust the setup to make it easier to change batteries in and out. The link below shows an example of a way to set up the motor so that you could change battery types without disturning the set up of the magnet and the supports for the magnetic wire.
http://www.msichicago.org/online-scienc ... vities/10/
You could also construct the motor the way it is showed in the picture you had in your post, but make a small stand for the magnet instead of putting it directly on the battery. That will make it simpler to switch between batteries, and it will keep your magnet at the same height each time.