How to Make a Homopolar Motor

Introduction

What do you need to make a motor? Not much! In this quick activity, you will make a simple motor using nothing but a battery, magnet, and a piece of wire.

Credits

Materials

• AA battery
• 1/2 inch diameter cylindrical neodymium magnet. The magnet should be roughly 1/2 inch long. You can also stack together multiple smaller magnets.
• 16 gauge bare copper wire (other gauges will work—the wire should be flexible enough that you can easily bend it by hand, but strong enough to hold its shape)
• Scissors or wire cutters