CALIFORNIA STATE SCIENCE FAIR
2013 PROJECT SUMMARY
Ap2/13
Name(s) Project Number
Project Title
Abstract
Summary Statement
Help Received
Brent A. Avery
Electromagnetism
S0901
Objectives/Goals
The objective of my project is to see if electromagnetism is a viable form of transportation. It is also to see
whether weight, mass, and surface area have an affect on magnetic attraction. My hypothesis is that they
definitely affect magnetic attraction.
Methods/Materials
A coppor wire was wrapped around the PVC pipe, put through a switch, and attached to a 12-volt battery.
This was repeated three times at different points in the PVC pipe. A ferromagnetic nail or steel ball
bearing was loaded at the start of the PVC pipe. To launch the projectile, the switches were turned off and
on in quick succession. The results were recorded.
Results
The ferromagnetic nail beat the steel ball in all four trials, traveling twice the distance.
Conclusions/Discussion
It seems that not only is electromagnetism a viable form of transportation, but also a very efficient one. It
launched a 500 gram ferromagnetic nail over 5 meters with only 36 volts of power.
My project is about how electromagnetism can be used as a possible form of launching projectiles and a
form of mass transportation.
Mother gave ideas for cosmetics on the poster board; man at a winder shop taught me how to wrap the
copper wire around the pipe.
