How to build a motor

Today, Mrs. Lawrence taught us how to build a motor out of a battery, two paper clips, copper wire, a rubber band, and a magnet with the goal for the copper wire to have torque to spin. To create such a contraption, you must attach the two papers clips to each side of the battery to hold the looped and coiled copper wire on top of them so that it is suspended over a magnet which is placed on top of the battery. The battery creates the current which the copper wire will carry. The two paperclips will complete the circuit. The magnet creates an magnetic field around the copper wire. This is important because the magnetic field causes a force on the moving electrons within the current. This is how it is similar to cosmic rays. Since both the current in the copper wire and the cosmic rays within the atmosphere are perpendicular to the magnetic field, both feel a force and are rejected by the magnetic field. If they were parallel they would not feel any force at all, causing the motor not to move and the cosmic rays to penetrate the magnetic field. It is also important to note that you must scrape the plastic off the copper wire to complete the circuit. However, it must only be on one side because it must only feel on force to propel it all the way around. If it was scraped all the way around it would feel to opposing forces that would cause it to go back and forth back and forth.

Just as moving charges are the sources of all magnetism, they are also the source of the motor. It is caused by the magnet creating a torque within the magnetic field since its force is perpendicular to the copper wire. The paper clips complete the circuit and cause the copper wire to hover over the magnet while the rubber band holds the two paperclips in place. It is easy to see how this is applicable to everyday life as the same sort of design is used in the motors of cars, blenders, and fans to propel wheels and blades.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO0qP7NYqOU