Electromagnet Task

User avatar
Unome
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4336
Joined: January 26th, 2014, 12:48 pm
Division: Grad
State: GA
Has thanked: 235 times
Been thanked: 85 times

Electromagnet Task

Post by Unome »

See rule 4.b.xii for details.

Creating a strong enough electromagnet to do anything useful with (pull a nail with a string attached off a ledge?) seems like it's a major part of the challenge.
Userpage

Opinions expressed on this site are not official; the only place for official rules changes and FAQs is soinc.org.
User avatar
cuber
Member
Member
Posts: 47
Joined: March 25th, 2017, 7:26 am
Division: C
State: NY
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Electromagnet Task

Post by cuber »

Here's a video on winding a coil using a machine built with lego : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQY-XjC ... lebInvents

side note - I wonder if something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9b0J29 ... e%E5%90%9B would count as an electromagnet :P
User avatar
Ashernoel
Member
Member
Posts: 345
Joined: January 27th, 2017, 1:31 pm
Division: Grad
State: IL
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Electromagnet Task

Post by Ashernoel »

Does a battery used in the construction of an electromagnetic count as a "battery source" ?
NT '19
Harvard '23
ScottMaurer19
Member
Member
Posts: 592
Joined: January 5th, 2017, 9:39 am
Division: Grad
State: OH
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Electromagnet Task

Post by ScottMaurer19 »

Ashernoel wrote:Does a battery used in the construction of an electromagnetic count as a "battery source" ?
Is it providing energy?
Solon '19 Captain, CWRU '23
2017 (r/s/n):
Hydro: 3/5/18
Robot Arm: na/1/1
Rocks: 1/1/1

2018 (r/s/n):
Heli: 2/1/7 
Herp: 1/4/4
Mission: 1/1/6
Rocks: 1/1/1
Eco: 6/3/9

2019 (r/s/n):
Fossils: 1/1/1
GLM: 1/1/1
Herp: 1/1/5
Mission: 1/1/3
WS: 4/1/10

Top 3 Medals: 144
Golds: 80
AbdullahNauman
Member
Member
Posts: 7
Joined: January 2nd, 2016, 2:34 pm
Division: C
State: NY
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0
Contact:

Re: Electromagnet Task

Post by AbdullahNauman »

Does a battery used in the construction of an electromagnetic count as a "battery source" ?


Yes, it would. As rule 3.j clearly explains all electrical circuits(as would be in this case) must be energized with a power source <= 14.4 volts.

It should be quite simple to run a wire from your current source to the electromagnet. It shouldn't take too much, in case you're concerned about the battery source bonus(rule 5.e).
Division B - Paul J. Gelinas:
Hovercraft - Nationals - 5th Place
Roller Coaster - Nationals - 3rd Place
--
Anatomy & Physiology
Mission Possible
Air Trajectory
RoboCross
Bottle Rocket
Fast Facts
Microbe Mission
---
Division C - Ward Melville:
TBD
---
Personal Website
Google+
andrew lorino
Member
Member
Posts: 66
Joined: November 4th, 2015, 4:00 pm
Division: C
State: NY
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Electromagnet Task

Post by andrew lorino »

AbdullahNauman wrote:
Does a battery used in the construction of an electromagnetic count as a "battery source" ?


Yes, it would. As rule 3.j clearly explains all electrical circuits(as would be in this case) must be energized with a power source <= 14.4 volts.

It should be quite simple to run a wire from your current source to the electromagnet. It shouldn't take too much, in case you're concerned about the battery source bonus(rule 5.e).
I think that he meant a battery used once, pre-competition to magnetize an iron rod.. Under that assumption I believe it would not. #1: The ES would have no way of knowing if a part has been made magnetic via electricity before the competition. #2: IMO, a pre-magnetized ferrous core would not count as a circuit during the competition. #3: Under this logic, pretty much any form of modern data storage would be illegal, as the data presumably would not have been stored using the same battery used in competition, which would make a phonograph practically the only option for the final task.
Flavorflav
Member
Member
Posts: 1388
Joined: February 5th, 2006, 7:06 am
Division: Grad
State: NY
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: Electromagnet Task

Post by Flavorflav »

Unome wrote:See rule 4.b.xii for details.

Creating a strong enough electromagnet to do anything useful with (pull a nail with a string attached off a ledge?) seems like it's a major part of the challenge.
It doesn't take much juice to throw a reed switch.
ScottMaurer19
Member
Member
Posts: 592
Joined: January 5th, 2017, 9:39 am
Division: Grad
State: OH
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Electromagnet Task

Post by ScottMaurer19 »

Flavorflav wrote:
Unome wrote:See rule 4.b.xii for details.

Creating a strong enough electromagnet to do anything useful with (pull a nail with a string attached off a ledge?) seems like it's a major part of the challenge.
It doesn't take much juice to throw a reed switch.
I already have my tiny reed switches, a nail, and copper wire
Solon '19 Captain, CWRU '23
2017 (r/s/n):
Hydro: 3/5/18
Robot Arm: na/1/1
Rocks: 1/1/1

2018 (r/s/n):
Heli: 2/1/7 
Herp: 1/4/4
Mission: 1/1/6
Rocks: 1/1/1
Eco: 6/3/9

2019 (r/s/n):
Fossils: 1/1/1
GLM: 1/1/1
Herp: 1/1/5
Mission: 1/1/3
WS: 4/1/10

Top 3 Medals: 144
Golds: 80
dbli2000
Member
Member
Posts: 5
Joined: February 15th, 2015, 11:13 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Electromagnet Task

Post by dbli2000 »

When attempting to get the battery bonus, my electromagnet seems to suck away all the current as it is shorting the battery and the other circuits are barely recieving current. I have tried to add various resistors in an effort to prevent this, but then the electromagnet is too weak to throw the reed switch. Any ideas?
andrew lorino
Member
Member
Posts: 66
Joined: November 4th, 2015, 4:00 pm
Division: C
State: NY
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Electromagnet Task

Post by andrew lorino »

dbli2000 wrote:When attempting to get the battery bonus, my electromagnet seems to suck away all the current as it is shorting the battery and the other circuits are barely recieving current. I have tried to add various resistors in an effort to prevent this, but then the electromagnet is too weak to throw the reed switch. Any ideas?
Maybe put it last, to mitigate its effects, or use a microcontroller or a bunch of transistors to make the reed switch's output turn off the electromagnet. This should be legal as you can extrapolate from the FAQ that said it was OK to switch a motor off later down the line.

EDIT: Or you could put it inline with some sort of circuit breaker, so that after a bit it would turn itself off, and use a thyristor to keep whatever the reed switch was powering on.
Locked

Return to “Mission Possible C”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests