Which Electromagnetic Materials Influence Neutron Decay Dynamics?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the influence of electromagnetic materials on the dynamics of neutron decay and the feasibility of using electromagnetic interactions to induce motion in materials, particularly in the context of creating a motor with rotating discs. Participants explore the properties of materials that can be set in motion by electromagnetic fields and the implications of neutron behavior in this context.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the lightest material that can be influenced by electromagnetism, prompting clarification on what "lightest" means.
  • Another participant suggests that all materials can be influenced by electromagnetic interactions, depending on the strength of the fields involved.
  • A participant describes a desire to create a motor using two discs that rotate together without a mechanical connection, proposing the use of electromagnetic induction.
  • There are suggestions that permanent magnets or electromagnets could be used to achieve the desired motion, with a note that power transfer may be limited without a mechanical connection.
  • Discussion includes the assertion that all atoms have electric charges, allowing them to interact with electromagnetic fields, but highlights that free neutrons do not have electric charge.
  • Participants discuss the instability of free neutrons and their decay process, questioning the relevance of neutron decay to the main topic of electromagnetic interactions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying views on the feasibility of using electromagnetic interactions for the proposed motor design, with some suggesting practical limitations. There is also a divergence in understanding the implications of neutron decay, with some participants questioning its relevance to the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention the need for high currents and voltages or large magnets for effective power transfer, indicating that practical implementation details are still unresolved. The discussion also touches on the nature of neutron decay and its implications for the topic, which remains somewhat tangential.

physior
Messages
182
Reaction score
1
hello

which is the lightest material that electromagnetism can set it in motion?

thanks!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The electromagnetic interaction can set everything in motion in some way. What do you mean with "lightest material"? Smallest mass, lowest density, something else?
 
I am looking for a strong material but lightweight, that can be set in motion under electromagnetic field OR can be induced into a magnet if electrified
 
That is still very vague. Even contact interactions ("pushing things") are influenced by electromagnetic interactions.

What do you want to do?
 
basically a kind of motor

I have a rotating disc
I want to link that disc to another disc and make them both rotating together
but I want them not to be connected mechanically, but electromagnetically
I want by electrifying them somehow, to make them rotate as one (either attached physically or not), but secured together electromagnetically
 
Are the disks next to each other? Permanent magnets should be the easiest solution. Replace them by electromagnets on one disk if you want to be able to switch the connection.
You won't get much power transfer without a mechanical connection or very large and heavy magnets.
 
the electromagnetic interaction can only move things that have an electrical charge, right?
 
All atoms have electric charges, both positive and negative ones. So basically everything interacts with electromagnetic fields, if the fields are strong enough. Even things that "normally" are not magnetic or electrically charged.



To make an electric motor out of two discs, you would have to attach a series of magnets with opposing polarities on one disk, and a set of coils on the other, and then
power the coils with the right AC frequency.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brushless_electric_motor
 
mfb said:
Are the disks next to each other? Permanent magnets should be the easiest solution. Replace them by electromagnets on one disk if you want to be able to switch the connection.
You won't get much power transfer without a mechanical connection or very large and heavy magnets.

large and heavy magnets or high currents and high voltages?
I don't want them to be permanently magnetic, that's why I want them to be electromagnetic
 
  • #10
M Quack said:
All atoms have electric charges, both positive and negative ones. So basically everything interacts with electromagnetic fields, if the fields are strong enough. Even things that "normally" are not magnetic or electrically

neutrons don't have electric charge
 
  • #11
physior said:
large and heavy magnets or high currents and high voltages?
Depends on the details of the setup, maybe all together.
Probably impractical, but hard to tell without any estimate of the size and scope of the project.@Dinis Oliveira: Free neutrons are unstable, so in normal matter they are always bound in nuclei with protons, and then you have charged objects around again. In addition, neutrons contain quarks, and those are charged.
 
  • #12
mfb said:
@Dinis Oliveira: Free neutrons are unstable, so in normal matter they are always bound in nuclei with protons, and then you have charged objects around again. In addition, neutrons contain quarks, and those are charged.

what does unstable mean here?
 
  • #13
They decay (to proton+electron+neutrino).
 
  • #14
mfb said:
They decay (to proton+electron+neutrino).

and that proton and electron won't form an atom?
 
  • #15
Extremely rarely, usually the particles shoot away with high energy that got released in the decay. Where is the relevance for the topic? Please open a separate thread if you have more questions about neutron decays.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: physior, davenn and M Quack

Similar threads

Undergrad Force exerted by an iron core electromagnet on a ferrofluid
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Undergrad How Do Time-Varying Currents in Conductors Generate EM Fields and Waves?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Undergrad Do electromagnetic waves fade with distance in vacuum?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
Undergrad How to Measure the Energy of an Electromagnetic Wave?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Graduate The difficulty of learning Electromagnetism vs Classical Mechanics
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
4K
Undergrad Two ways of constructing electromagnetism, which is correct?
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
Undergrad Does Current Density Decay to Zero at Vortex Centers in 2D Systems?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Undergrad Can Electromagnetic Fields Exist Independently of Charges?
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
3K
High School Is the Kink in the Electromagnetic Wave Responsible for Delayed Motion?
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
Graduate Fresh air (vacuum) as media for electromagnetics, can it have losses?
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
1K