This Instructable will show you how to make an electric motor from a few common materials.

Step 1: Materials

In order to make this simple electric motor you are going to need to gather the following materials.

Two paperclips
One d-cell battery
One magnet preferably the length of the battery
Sand Paper
One rubber band
One armlenth of 26 gauge magnet wire

Step 2: Setting Up the Coil

Once you have the wire, take it and wrap it around the battery as many times as possible and still having around two inches of unwound wire on each side
After that, remove the coil without bending out of its circular shape
Then take the two wire ends and wrap them around the coil enough times so that the coil will not unravel (they now should be about an inch long)
Now take the final coil and balance it the best you can using your finger and your thumb and bend it accordingly so it stays horizontal
Using the sandpaper, gently sand off all of the red enamel on one side (completely silver)
On the opposite side, ONLY SAND THE TOP HALF OFF THE RED ENAMEL (bottom half red top half silver)

Step 3: Bending the Paperclips

Bend two paperclips SYMMETRICALLY so that they are able to hold up the two ends of the coil.

Step 4: Attaching the Paperclips

Using the rubber band fasten the two paperclips, (one on each side) to the terminals and make sure that they have good contact, you may need two rubber bands to completely secure the clips

Step 5: The Magnet

Once the two paperclips are secured find a magnet (or two) that span the length of the battery without hanging over the edge. Place the magnet(s) on the battery and the magnet will secure itself.

Step 6: Finishing the Motor

Once the magnet is in place, cradle the coil on top of the two clips and give the coil a slight push. The motor should continue on its own. Voila! Your very own electric motor!

Step 7: Trouble Shooting

If your motor does not work or performs poorly there could be multiple things that went wrong

Balance- If the coil is not balanced properly it may be hard for the magnet to pull the coil over, check it out and if necessary reshape the coil into a circle using the battery as a template
Connections- If the wires holding up the coil are not sanded properly there could be a couple things wrong: check to see if the side that is supposed to be completely sanded is truly completely sanded, and if that doesn't work either too much enamel has been taken off (in which case you will need to restart) or too little has been shaved off and its necessary to carefully sand more off
Paperclips- Make sure that the paperclips are evenly put on the terminals and that they make good connection. If they aren't even the coil may have troubles moving, and if they do not have good connection the coil may not get good enough current.
Paperclips (pt.2)- The height of the coils also is a factor, it the paperclips are too high the magnet may not have enough effect on the coil so try making the paperclips shorter.
Paperclips (pt.3)- If one paperclip is taller than the other it may cause the coil to move towards one side, and cause resistance. if this occurs make sure that they are both the same height