Today, I bring an example of magnetism I encountered just a few days ago. My brother had recently come into the parts for a computer he was building (for a friend), and we made good use of this handy tool. It is, as can be seen, a magnetic screwdriver, which allows the screw to remain firmly fastened to the implement without need for an extra hand to hold it in place which may be needed elsewhere. The physics of this is, of course, magnetism. Two oppositely charged objects will attract each other by way of the magnetic field they produce. However, a problem arises: how does this process work with the screw, which would be assumed to have no charge? This problem is solved by polarization. The same force that attracts or repels the positively charged protons in the screw will do the opposite to the negative electrons. This either attracts electrons near the front of the screw, or drives them to the back, depending on the tool's charge. Then, the screw is polarized-though the total charge on it hasn't changed, it now "appears" charged because of the electron imbalance. Therefore, the magnetic screwdriver is able to attract its screw through the same force that polarized it in the first place.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Today, I bring an example of magnetism I encountered just a few days ago. My brother had recently come into the parts for a computer he was building (for a friend), and we made good use of this handy tool. It is, as can be seen, a magnetic screwdriver, which allows the screw to remain firmly fastened to the implement without need for an extra hand to hold it in place which may be needed elsewhere. The physics of this is, of course, magnetism. Two oppositely charged objects will attract each other by way of the magnetic field they produce. However, a problem arises: how does this process work with the screw, which would be assumed to have no charge? This problem is solved by polarization. The same force that attracts or repels the positively charged protons in the screw will do the opposite to the negative electrons. This either attracts electrons near the front of the screw, or drives them to the back, depending on the tool's charge. Then, the screw is polarized-though the total charge on it hasn't changed, it now "appears" charged because of the electron imbalance. Therefore, the magnetic screwdriver is able to attract its screw through the same force that polarized it in the first place.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
nice, sam. we're studying magnetism in a few weeks.
but since you mention it, although magnetism is caused ultimately by electrons also, it really doesn't have anything to do with charge imbalances and static electricity.
but magnetic screwdrivers are an awesome invention.
Post a Comment