Is the only way to make a powerful magnet by making it really big? Or could you make a really powerful small magnet? If so, what makes a small surface have more magnetism?
Just genuinely curious!
In: Physics
If we’re talking about an electromagnet, you can increase the strength of the magnetism by either:
•A) Reducing the resistance of the coil by using a more conductive wire.
•B) Wrapping the coil more times or using thicker coil.
•C) Increasing the current flowing through the coil by increasing the voltage.
The iron atoms have so many electons in orbit that twist in the same direction which cause a magnetic force. This is true of basically all metallic atoms. This tendency makes them ‘magnet capable’ but not yet actual magnets. You magnetize them by exciting those atoms with electricity or some other magnet that can interact with the atoms. So you can excite them by sending more electricity through the metal, so an electro-magnet. Small amount of metal, a ton of current, those atoms are seriously excited and create a huge force. OR, simply pack in more iron atoms and get a lot more power.
So what is happening when you ‘charge’ a magnet? Essentially, via electricity or other magnetism, the atoms align in the same direction, causing the magnetic force. If you coil up a wire around a piece of metal, the inductive force of the coil will cause iron atoms to line up and become magnetized. So it isn’t *just* adding electricity, you have to coil the electricity around the iron with a wire.
Electricity and magnetism are two halves of the same force, and you cant increase one without increasing the other. Electrons are fundamental particles, and so far no one has discovered an equivalent Magnatron particle (this is a whole thing I couldn’t possibly explain). So the only way to make something more magnetic is to put more electrons in it. So in terms of an iron magnet the only way to make it more powerful is to put more iron (which contains electrons) into it. Electromagnets are a little different, and they can be made more powerful just by increasing the amount of electricity.
Direction has a lot to do with magnetism, so you could have two magnets that were the same size, but one of them has atoms that are poorly aligned, and it would have a weaker magnetic field. And similarly with electromagnets which have loops of wire, if you had to electromagnets with the same voltage, but one of them had sloppier loops it would produce a weaker field.
Theres a ton of math and stuff thats pretty interesting if you like that sort of thing, but its not super Eli5
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