Lab 08: Faraday’s Law

You will need to run a simulation to do the lab. Answer the following questions as you work
through the lab. Write your answers in blue. Re-load the file in Word or PDF format in Moodle
before the due date.

Objective
In this lab you will use a bar magnet and coils to learn about Faraday's law. Move
a bar magnet near one or two coils to make a light bulb glow. View the magnetic
field lines. A meter shows the direction and magnitude of the current. View the
magnetic field lines or use a meter to show the direction and magnitude of the
current. You can also observe how the compass needle deflection and the
electron movement inside the coil change by changing the source of an
electromagnet from DC to AC.

Simulation: Open Faraday’s Electromagnetic Lab

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/faraday

 
Take a few minutes to be familiar with the simulation.

1. Bar Magnet Open Faraday’s Electromagnetic Lab

1. Click on the ‘Bar Magnet’ Tab you should see a bar magnet and a compass on the screen. Please
note that the color red refers to North and white refers to South. Place the compass at the North end
of the bar magnet and observe which way the “red tip” of the compass points. Move the compass to
the South end, and observe where the “red tip” of the compass points. Based on your observation,
describe how the compass works:

2. Use your response above to explain why the geographic North-pole is the magnetic South-pole.

v Simulation  created  by  the  Physics  Education  Technology  Project  (PhET)  c/o  The  University  of  Colorado  at  Boulder  
http://phet.colorado.edu/  
rd
v This  lab  has  been  modified  for  the  On-­‐line  lab  course  from  “Electricity  and  Magnetism”,  3  Ed.  Sokoloff,  Laws  and  Thornton  for  UNCC  
labs  1102L/2102L.  
  

3. Check the “show field” box if it is not already checked. This shows how the compass needle would
orient itself at each point around the bar magnet. Joining these in the direction of the red arrow
gives essentially the field line diagram of the bar magnet. Sketch a diagram of these. Use arrows
to represent the direction in which the red tip points.

4. Place the compass next to the North-Pole of the bar magnet and press the Flip Polarity button.
What happens to the magnet and the compass?

5. Click ‘See Inside Magnet’. What do you see? Add this to your diagram above.

6. Click ‘Show Field Meter’ and move the meter around. In what position does B have the greatest
magnitude? When does it get weaker?
Greatest magnitude __________
Weaker magnetic field ________

Sketch the bar magnet and show the regions where a) Bx is positive and negative b) By is positive
and negative. Note the angle specified in the meter.

Bar magnet sketch:

Place the meter at a location to the left and underneath the bar magnet. What are the Bx, By and 𝐵
values? Verify the mathematical relationship between the three. Also note the value of angle Θ.
What is the mathematical relationship between Bx By and angle Θ? Verify this for the values noted:

v Simulation  created  by  the  Physics  Education  Technology  Project  (PhET)  c/o  The  University  of  Colorado  at  Boulder  
http://phet.colorado.edu/  
rd
v This  lab  has  been  modified  for  the  On-­‐line  lab  course  from  “Electricity  and  Magnetism”,  3  Ed.  Sokoloff,  Laws  and  Thornton  for  UNCC  
labs  1102L/2102L.  
  

2: Electromagnet – Is Electromagnetism Reversible?

1. Choose the Electromagnet tab. You should see a battery attached to a loop of coil (an
electromagnet) and a compass on the screen. Make sure current source is set to DC and uncheck
the “show field” box. Set the number of loops to 4. Move the compass around the electromagnet
and describe what it does:

2. Move the compass around the electromagnet in order to determine the North and South poles.
Draw a picture of the electromagnet coil and label the ends as either North or South Pole.

3. On your diagram indicate the direction of current flow in the coil (Note: the simulation shows the
flow of electrons, how does this relate to the direction of current?)

4. Now check the “show field” box and observe the magnetic field lines. How does the magnetic field
of the electromagnet compare to that of the bar magnet. Add the field lines to your diagram above.

5. Change your current source from DC to AC and describe what the compass does.

6. Observe the electrons in the AC current source and compare their movement to those in the DC
current source. Explain the difference between DC and AC in terms of electron movement.

7. Use the field meter to observe where the field at various spots. Where is it strongest and where is
it weakest.

8. Place the field meter near one of the ends of the coil (set the no of loops to 1). Note down the
value of B. Start increasing the no of loops and note each corresponding value of B. How does the
magnitude of B change as the no of loops is increased.

v Simulation  created  by  the  Physics  Education  Technology  Project  (PhET)  c/o  The  University  of  Colorado  at  Boulder  
http://phet.colorado.edu/  
rd
v This  lab  has  been  modified  for  the  On-­‐line  lab  course  from  “Electricity  and  Magnetism”,  3  Ed.  Sokoloff,  Laws  and  Thornton  for  UNCC  
labs  1102L/2102L.  
  

3: Pickup Coil
1. Choose the ‘Pickup Coil’ tab. Set the number of loops to “1” and write your observations to the
light bulb when
a) the magnet is not moving and is not in the loop

b) the magnet is moving and is not in the loop

c) the magnet is not moving and is in the loop

d) the magnet is moving and is in the loop

2. If you change the speed of the magnet, does it affect your results? If so, how?

3. If you change the strength of the magnet, does it affect your results? If so, how?

4. Increase the number of loops to “3” and note how it affects your results.

5. Increase the loop area to “100” and note how it affects your results.

6. Replace the bulb with the voltage indicator. Observe what happens to the voltage induced as you
change
a. the speed of the magnet: _________

b. the strength of the magnet: __________

c. number of loops to 3: ______

d. increase the loop area to 100: ___________

7. What is the sign of the induced voltage as the North -pole end of the magnet moves towards the
coil.
Sign ________

v Simulation  created  by  the  Physics  Education  Technology  Project  (PhET)  c/o  The  University  of  Colorado  at  Boulder  
http://phet.colorado.edu/  
rd
v This  lab  has  been  modified  for  the  On-­‐line  lab  course  from  “Electricity  and  Magnetism”,  3  Ed.  Sokoloff,  Laws  and  Thornton  for  UNCC  
labs  1102L/2102L.  
  

16. As the magnet passes through the coil and the South-pole end recedes away from the coil, what
is the sign of the induced voltage?

17. Relate these two findings to Lenz’s law that you learned in lecture.

Conclusion Questions:

1. The red tip of the compass needle points away from / towards the North-pole end of the bar
magnet.

2. Geographic South-pole is a North/South/Neutral magnetic pole.

3. When the compass indicator is perpendicular to the North-South Bar magnet (“Electromagnet” in
the Generator simulation), the Bx is zero/maximum/unknown.

4. Reversing the direction of current flow in an electromagnet coil reverses / does not affect the
polarity of the electromagnet.

5. The strength of the field produced by the electromagnet increases /decreases / remains
unchanged as the numbers of loops in the coil of the electromagnet are increased.
6. Unless the bar magnet moves back and forth relative to the coil, voltage is not induced in the coil.
True/False.
7. If the speed of a moving magnet through a coil increases, the voltage induced in the coil
increases / decreases / remains the same.
8. If the number of loops in a coil around a moving magnet decreases, the brightness of the light
bulb increases / decreases / remains the same.
9. If area of a coil around a moving magnet increases, the emf created increases / decreases /
remains the same.
10. When the polarity of the moving magnet is flipped, the voltage induced increases / decreases /
remains the same.
11. When the polarity of the moving magnet is flipped, the sign of the voltage induced changes /
remains the same.
12. In principle, a coil at rest connected to an AC source should induce voltage on another coil at
rest. True/False.

v Simulation  created  by  the  Physics  Education  Technology  Project  (PhET)  c/o  The  University  of  Colorado  at  Boulder  
http://phet.colorado.edu/  
rd
v This  lab  has  been  modified  for  the  On-­‐line  lab  course  from  “Electricity  and  Magnetism”,  3  Ed.  Sokoloff,  Laws  and  Thornton  for  UNCC  
labs  1102L/2102L.