NextPrevious

Physics and Chemistry

Electricity and Magnetism

How does an electromagnet work?

Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted (1777–1851) was the first to observe a connection between electricity and magnetism. He found that a current in a wire caused a nearby compass needle to rotate thereby establishing that an electric current always produces a magnetic field around itself. When an electric current flows through a wire wrapped around a piece of iron, it creates a magnetic field in the iron. Electromagnets are used in a wide variety of applications, including doorbells, switches, and valves in heating and cooling equipment to telephones, large machinery used to lift heavy loads of scrap metal, and particle accelerators.



Close

This is a web preview of the "The Handy Science Answer Book" app. Many features only work on your mobile device. If you like what you see, we hope you will consider buying. Get the App