How to make an electric motor easily

One of the most popular experiments in school programmes is the creation of electric motors from simple materials. By the way, if you happen to be looking for electric motors for your projects, I recommend that you look at Amazon, which usually has very good prices.

Next, we will see how to make a electric motor with just a simple power source (a battery), a conductive material to promote the flow of electrons (copper wire) and a magnetic field (a magnet). In this experiment, we will see how a magnetic field works and that with a good bit of re-design and modification, a much more functional electric motor can be created.

Materials needed

The materials we will need for the construction of our electric motor are as follows:

- One screw.

- A 1.5 volt battery.

- A good piece of copper wire.

- A small magnet in the shape of a button or disc.

Construction of the electric motor

Start by placing the head of the screw on one side of the magnet. Next, place the tip of the screw on the positive pole of the battery. The tip will be fixed to the battery, thanks to the force of the magnetism transmitted through the screw.

Once the basic assembly is done, we proceed to place one end of our copper wire on the negative pole of the battery and close the circuit by touching the magnet with the free end of the copper wire. Now comes the fun part, we will see how the screw starts to rotate rapidly, due to the perpendicular force exerted by the magnetic field generated by the flow of electrons through the copper wire.

Important note

When performing this experiment, it is advisable to protect your eyes with laboratory or industrial glasses, as the magnetic force can cause the screw to fly out.