Magnetism lab involving a nail and an Allen wrench

[VitaminK]

Homework Statement

I performed this lab where I had to investigate the effect of an external magnetic field on an iron nail.

Relevant Equations

no equations for this

So basically what I had to do was:
1. take a Allen wrench and let it come in contact with an iron nail. Nothing happened here. None of the objects are magnetic.
2. take the Allen wrench and let it touch the North end of a magnet. Then let the wrench come in Contact with the iron nail. Here the wrench becomes magnetic and attracts the nail.
3. take the wrench and let it touch the South end of the magnet. Then let the wrench come in Contact with the iron nail. Same as in 2). The wrench becomes magnetic and attracts the nail.

My question is if this method is functional and what are the pros and cons? Are there alternative ways to do this that would work even better?

 

[berkeman]

My question is if this method is functional and what are the pros and cons? Are there alternative ways to do this that would work even better?

What are your thoughts so far?

 

[VitaminK]

What are your thoughts so far?

Well, in terms of functionality I guess the method works since I managed to create a temporary magnet out of the wrench that in turn influenced the iron nail. Pros with this method, I guess, would be that it is easy to perform. The cons would be that it's only a temporary magnet. (Not sure about this part, need help to elaborate my answer).
As for alternative methods, I read somewhere that you can use a hammer to hit the Nail with, in order to make it magnetic.

 

[berkeman]

Well, in terms of functionality I guess the method works since I managed to create a temporary magnet out of the wrench that in turn influenced the iron nail. Pros with this method, I guess, would be that it is easy to perform. The cons would be that it's only a temporary magnet. (Not sure about this part, need help to elaborate my answer).
As for alternative methods, I read somewhere that you can use a hammer to hit the Nail with, in order to make it magnetic.

Good thoughts so far. I'm not sure about the hitting it with a hammer part, but it seems to sound a little familiar. Google can help to validate that, and to tell you the level of magnetization attainable with that method if it really does work (I suspect the level is pretty low).

And as for the method in your experiment, I agree that the level of magnetization would be low. I used to run a magnetic pole along the length of a sewing needle when I was a kid to make a cork+needle compass by floating the needle and cork in a small dish of water. That was pretty cool. I think the rubbing (in one direction) technique will give you a higher level of magnetization than just a single touch on one end -- you could do some Google searching and reading to try to see if you can figure out what the relative magnitudes of the magnetizations would be with those two methods.

You should also do some reading about how real magnets are magnetized (most likely using electromagnetic coils), and see what the levels of magnetization can be achieved with different materials and those best techniques. Be sure to look at the quantitative numbers for the Br and Hc (look those up) and also the units that are associated with those quantities.

Finally, be a little careful magnetizing metal tools (either on purpose or accidentally). Some tools still work fine/better when magnetized, but others can have problems that come up when they are magnetized. Can you say which tools you can think of that would work a little better when magnetized, and which ones you definitely would prefer not to have magnetized? Which of those two categories would your Allen wrench fall into?

 

[hutchphd]

How do you de-magnetize the allen wrench? There are ways using magnets ...and not using magnets. Many useful questions.