Hey guys, havent been on recently, and i thought i would post. i used to do a bunch of LEGO stuff but im done with that now. so ill be showing you how to make a simple fairly powerful electromagnet with 5 simple things.

Step 1: Materials

Here's what you'll need:

An iron rod/bolt or nail (i think mine is steel though couldnt find an iron one)
Copper wire (mine is solid but i think you can use threaded)
Power source (C battery works great)
Tape

im afraid to hook it up to a 120V wall AC/DC adapter afraid it'll flip the breaker haha.

Step 2: Winding the Wire

Start winding the wire tightly around your core. go most of the way down but dont completely cover it. I went down to the threads on my bolt and then put a nut on the end to keep the wire in place.

Step 3: Power Source

Okay now your soon to be electromagnet should look something like this. Now to add your power source. in my case, a C battery. Get your tape, and tape the battery in between the two ends of your wire. Have the positive end be on the shorter length of the wire thats sticking up and tape the wire to the contact. Do not tape the other end of the wire to the negative!

Step 4: Switch

Okay here is how you will turn your magnet on and off. Cut a peice of ducttape about 1" by 1.5". Then cut a small sliver about 1" tall and a centimeter wide. put the small strip in the middle of the bigger peice like so. then put it on the negative contact with the open end facing down and at an angle towards either sideof your wrapped iron core.