MakingaFaradayFlashlight

ExecutiveSummary:Thisproject
demonstratestheprinciplethata
magnetpassingthroughacoilofwire
inducesacurrent,whichinthiscase
lightsanLED.TwoLEDsareused,one
thatlightswhenthemagnetmovesin
onedirectionandtheotherlightswhen
themagnetgoesbacktheotherway.In
arealflashlight,anadditionalcircuit
wouldbeusedtocausethelighttostayon;thisisjustademoandisintendedto
keepcostsdown.

Materialsneeded(perflashlight)
Part

Wire

Magnet

LED

Tube

Number Partnumber

Unit
Description
price
(June
2011)
150ft
$8.60*
Magnetwire,24gauge
Wire-MW-24-1/4
http://www.bulkwire.com/wirecable/magnetwire.html
1
ND035
$1.29**
Neodymiun(rareearth_
magnet,disk,in.diameter,
thick
http://www.magnet4less.com/product_info.php?products_id=123
2
1601665ND
$0.36
LED3MM632NMALINGAP

REDCLEAR

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?lang=en&site=US&KeyWords=1
601665ND&x=0&y=0

4in
49035K23
$7.77for ClearPVCpipe,
4ft
length)
http://www.mcmaster.com/#clearpvcpipe/=cre6rr
2

Rubber
bands
Tape,scissors,paper,andamatchorlighter

*Formultipleprojects,thiswirecanbeboughtinlargerspoolsformuchless,e.g.
http://www.magnet4less.com/product_info.php?products_id=195isapproximately
8,700feetfor$107.Thiswireisabout790lb/foot.
**About$1eachinquantity

Principleofoperation
FaradaysLaw
TheflashlightworksontheprincipleofFaradayslaw,whichsaysthatachanging
magneticfieldinducesanelectromotiveforce,producingacurrentinawire.Inour
case,themagnetismoving(whenyoushaketheflashlight),whichcausesachanging
magneticfield.Acoilofwireiswrappedaroundtheoutside,andthemovingmagnet
inducesafield.

Figure 1. Faradays law. http://sirius.ucsc.edu/demoweb/cgi-bin/?e_m-electmag-faraday

Aneatsimulationcanbefoundat
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/faradayslaw.

LED
Inourcase,wewillusethecurrenttolightupalightemittingdiode(LED).The
circuitsymbolforadiodeisshowninFigure2. Adiodeisadeviceinwhichcurrent
flowsinonlyonedirection(thedirectionthearrowispointing).Thebaracrossthe
arrowtipremindsusthatcurrentcannotflowinthatdirection.

Figure 2. Current can flow only one direction in a diode.

Whenweshaketheflashlight,themagnetmovesbackandforth,resultingina
currentthatreversesdirectionbackandforth.Therefore,wewillconnecttwo
diodesacrossthewirecoil,inantiparallelconfiguration,Figure3.


Figure 3. The LEDs are connected anti-parallel.

TheLEDlampslookphysicallyasshowninFigure4.Oneleadisdesignatedthe
anode,andtheotheristhecathode.Therearetwowaystotellthemapartonthe
LEDpackage.Thefirstistonoticewhichleadislonger.Thelongerleadistheanode.
Ifsomeonehascuttheleadsoryoucantseethem,thebackupplanistolookforthe
flatsideoftheflangeonthelampbody.Theflatindicatesthecathode.

Figure 4. The anode and cathode of an LED lamp, and how to tell them apart.
http://www.societyofrobots.com/electronics_led_tutorial.shtml

Construction
1. Windthecoil.

Leavingabout6ofwirefreeatthebeginning,tapethewiretothesideofthetube.
Wrapthewirearoundthetubeuntilabout6areleft,andtapethewiretothetube.
Thetapeisjusttokeepthewirefromunwinding.
Overlapthewireasmuchaspossible
Neatnessdoesntcount.
Itisnotnecessaryorevendesirabletocovertheentirelengthofthe
tube.Youwantashort,densecoiltomaximizetheinteractionofthe
magnetandthecoil.Youalsowanttheendsofthetubetoremain
uncoveredsoyoucanseethemagnetinthere.

2. Burnofftheinsulation
Themagnetwirehasacoatingofinsulatingmaterialpaintedontoit,tokeepitfrom
shortingtoitselfwhenwoundintocoils.Tomakeelectricalconnections,youllneed
toburnitoff.

Holdingtheendofthewireawayfromflammableobjects,usethelightertoburnoff
about1oftheinsulation.Youmayseethecoatingflareupinstantaneously.Itonly
takesasecondortwo.Whenthewirelooksblack,youhavesucceeded.Repeatfor
theotherend.
Childrensometimeshavetroubleoperatinglighterswithsafety
mechanisms.
Theinsulationcanbealsoremovedwithsandpaper,butitisharderto
getalltheinsulationoff,andis
nowherenearasmuchfun.

3. ConnecttheLEDS

ToconnecttheLEDs,twisttogethertheanodeof
oneLEDandthecathodeoftheother.Repeatfor
theotherleads,Figure5.Makesurethetwopairs
ofleadsdonttoucheachother.

Twistoneburnedoffendofthecoilwiretoeach
pairofLEDleads.

4. Insertmagnetandcaptube
Insertthemagnetintothetube.Cuttwocircles
Figure 5. Connection of the LEDs.
ofpaper,andrubberbandthemtotheendsof
thetube.

CAUTION: Make sure you cover the ends of the tube with your thumb and
finger to prevent the very heavy magnet from becoming a projectile.

5. Shakeandobserve

Comments

Ifyoudecidetoscalethisupordown,itisimportantthatthetubeinnerdiameterbe
onlyslightlylargerthanthenmagnet.Ifthemagnetcanrotate,theeffectwillbe
largelylost.Alsothetubeshouldbeslipperyenoughthatthemagnetcanslidefreely
(e.g.,notrubber).