We created electromagnets today in class. I prefaced the instructions by explaining that any electrons moving along a conductor create a magnetic field. I went further to explain that even though we use this fact all of the time (in motors and generators for example) there is still a lot of mystery. We don't, for example, know the precise relationship of electricity and magnetism nor exactly what a force is (even though we thoroughly understand the effects of the force.
I shared this with the class because I think it is extremely important that they know that science is not a fixed set of information but an evolving understanding of our universe. There are still so many things that we don't understand but that they may solve in their lifetimes. (I asked them to dedicate their scientific papers to the Elms if that should happen). It's so exciting to me to know that we don't know -- and the students shared my awe. One immediately piped up -- "It's got something to do with the iron...I'm sure of it."
We made our electromagnets. As usual there were joyous shouts of, "It's working!" as partnerships picked up staples with their nails. (It always surprises me the awe of the students at their own success, even after they've seen an experiment demonstrated to them -- it's so important for them to do it themselves.) Hypotheses on how to create a more powerful electromagnet were quickly formed and written (add more coils, move the coils closer to the staples, use more volts). We'll try out the ideas tomorrow.
When I got home, I was curious about just how much we do know about the electro-magnetic connection. It's certainly more than what I learned in highschool (or at least more than my physics teacher understood well enough to explain to us). Whenever I see the words "special relativity" I know that I'm in rather over my head. For those of you who might be able to explain it to me, here's what Wikipedia has to say:
The magnetic field forms one aspect of electromagnetism. (See also relativistic electromagnetism.) In a simplified form the magnetic field can be thought of as the relativistic part of an electric field. More precisely, magnetic fields are a necessary consequence of the existence of electric fields and special relativity. A pure electric field in one reference frame will be viewed as a combination of both an electric field and a magnetic field in a moving reference frame. Together, the electric and magnetic fields make up the electromagnetic field, which is best known for underlying light and other electromagnetic waves.
Our world is full of mystery.
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