On the various forces of nature and their relations to each otherFaraday, Michael
Science
On the various forces of nature and their relations to each other
Faraday, Michael
Physics
once a powerful magnet--so much so, that I should not wonder if these
magnetic needles on different parts of the table pointed to it. And I
will shew you by another experiment what an attraction it has. This
piece and that piece of iron, and many other pieces, are now strongly
attracted (fig. 52); but as soon as I break contact, the power is all
gone, and they fall. What, then, can be a better or a stronger proof
than this of the relation of the powers of magnetism and electricity?
Again, here is a little piece of iron which is not yet magnetised. It
will not at present take up any one of these nails; but I will take
a piece of wire and coil it round the iron (the wire being covered
with cotton in every part, it does not touch the iron), so that the
current must go round in this spiral coil. I am, in fact, preparing
an _electro-magnet_ (we are obliged to use such terms to express
our meaning, because it is a magnet made by electricity--because we
produce by the force of electricity a magnet of far greater power than
a permanent steel one). It is now completed, and I will repeat the
experiment which you saw the other day, of building up a bridge of iron
nails. The contact is now made, and the current is going through; it is
now a powerful magnet. Here are the iron nails which we had the other
day; and now I have brought this magnet near them, they are clinging
so hard that I can scarcely move them with my hand (fig. 53). But when
the contact is broken, see how they fall. What can shew you better than
such an experiment as this the magnetic attraction with which we have
endowed these portions of iron? Here, again, is a fine illustration of
this strong power of magnetism. It is a magnet of the same sort as the
one you have just seen. I am about to make the current of electricity
pass through the wires which are round this iron for the purpose of
shewing you what powerful effects we get. Here are the poles of the
magnet; and let us place on one of them this long bar of iron. You
see, as soon as contact is made, how it rises in position (fig. 54);
and if I take such a piece as this cylinder, and place it on, woe be
to me if I get my finger between: I can roll it over, but if I try to
pull it off, I might lift up the whole magnet; but I have no power to
overcome the magnetic power which is here evident. I might give you an
infinity of illustrations of this high magnetic power. There is that
long bar of iron held out; and I have no doubt that, if I were to
examine the other end, I should find that it was a magnet. See what
power it must have to support not only these nails but all those lumps
of iron hanging on to the end. What, then, can surpass these evidences
of the change of chemical force into electricity, and electricity into
magnetism? I might shew you many other experiments whereby I could
obtain electricity and chemical action, heat and light, from a magnet;
but what more need I shew you to prove the universal correlation of the
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