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Magnetometer High School
Science Fair Projects

Take the solar sytem's magnetic plus by doing
magnetometer high school science fair projects.
Solar Wind, Interplanetary Magnetic Field.
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Solar System Magnetometer Science Kit
Measure the Interplanetary Magnetic Field!

This Kit is NO LONGER AVAILABLE
(Ages 12 & 13 with adult supervision, 14 thru college independent study )



What is included
in the Magnetometer Packet?
  • Diode laser - Pen-style laser pointer only used one milli-watt of power making it safe to use at home or school. Guaranteed for at least 40 hrs of use with only a single set of AAA batteries which are included in the packet! Radio Shack's price - $30.

  • Ultra-fine nylon filament - 1/4 the width of a human hair and you receive a life-time supply so you can fix your filament whenever it breaks.

  • 4-Ultra powerful rare earth magnets - is nickel coated which protects the delicate magnetized ceramic. Used to support magnetic fields that are 20,000 stronger than the earth's! Precisely calibrated just for this project so you can calibrate your your magnetometer if you decide to. Now you will be able to find out how strong is the interplanetary magnetic field!

  • Ultra lightweight mirror - 0.007" thick this amazing mirror is used to reflect the laser beam off the sense magnets. Plus you will learn a secret procedure of how to attach this mirror to the magnet. )

  • Clear plastic instrument case - A pre-machined jewel style CD case specially made to protect your instrument from wind for the delicate sensing element that is at the core of your instrument. No power tools needed.

  • Sewing needle - used to thread the nylon fiber thru the instrument case.

  • Tweezers - used to grip the almost invisible fiber so you can easily handle it.

  • 3-spring style clothespins - Two hold the instrument upright and one holds the laser and clinch power button in the "on" position. Now you have created a hands-free operating instrument!


    • Nulling Asssembly Packet

  • 4-high-field ceramic nulling magnets - cancels the earth's magnetic field so that your instument is exposed to just the solar system's flucuating field. More powerful than 3-Radio Shack magnets.

  • Jewel-style CD case - provides a self-suporting stand for the nulling magnets

    • Calibraton Packet
    The contents of this package are used to uncover the strength of the interplanetary magnetic field

  • Plastic Tape-style ruler - provides a non-magnetic measuring scale to calibrate the instrument.

  • Index card - used as an important part of the calibration magnet

  • 2-spring-style clothespins - holds the calibration magnet upright at the calibration distances

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    If you don't want to win at your Science Fair, then don't read this!


    Or sit back, relax, and in your living room watch the external flow of solar magnetism as it washes over the earth with the Magnetometer High School Science Fair Projects Science Kit!!!

    Are you be saying to yourself, "Sure, nothing is that easy!"
    Well, what makes it so easy is this kit.

    So How Does It Work?

    image of sun sprayBackground information

    What is a magnetometer?
    A magnetometer is a scientific instrument that measures magnetic fields. It can also determine its orientation and direction.

    The sun sprays out particles into the outer space which is called a solar wind.

     

    image of solar windThe solar wind is a stream of charged particles (like a stream of water) but of a plasma (ionized gas where electrons are free) that are flowing out from the upper atmosphere (outer region) of the sun.

    It consists mostly of electrons and protons. These charged particles then create a tiny magnetic field that shifts and pitches as it flows thru the solar system. This magnetic field is called by scientists, interplanetary magnetic field. The above image to the right shows the solar wind.

    What Does Your Magnetometer Do? - With the most sensitive instrument known to science, the Torsion Balance connects the observer (you) to what is being observed. It uses 2-tiny ultra-powerful magnets which are delicately suspended from an extremely delicate nylon fiber to detect subtile shifts in the local magnetic field.

     

    image of super-magnet

     


    Now here is the magic(or should I say science).... These shifts in the interplanetary magnetic field cause those magnets to twist ever so slightly around the fiber. The image at the left shows the super-magnet.

     

    image of super-magnetThe inventor of your magnetometer attached an ultra-light-weight mirror - just seven thousandths of an inch thick - to one of these magnets. Those minute motions are made visable because they are amplified by bouncing a laser beam off that mirror and onto a distant wall.

    The image on the right shows you how you will Secure the nearly invisible fiber when you do your magnetometer high school science fair projects.

     

    image of super-magnetic sensor
    Detail showing the super-magnetic sensor in the fiber with a penny positioned behind it on the outside of the plastic case. As explained in the instructions, the penny helps to stabilize the sensor against vibrations.

     

    image of super-magnetWithin the kit you will get directions on how to compare your observations with one of NSAS's satellites that is posted a million miles away from earth where it continuously monitors the solar wind.

    This will prove to you that you are observing the interplanetary magnetic field when you do your magnetometer high school science fair projects.

    And you will learn how to use a NASA website to generate a graph that will show you exactly what the interplanetary magnetic field is doing at any time.

    When you observe the squiggles from your livingroom and see how they match with the squiggles in the satellite data, you will know that you have really connected to the subtle workings of the solar system! WOW! Amazing!

    Whose magnetometer high school science fair projects could ever compete with yours? image

    General Construction Packet
    Everything you need to make your magnetometer is included in this packet including index cards, resealable epoxy tubes, popsicle sticks to mix the expoxy, toothpicks to apply the epoxy, and two pairs of plastic gloves when you use the marring mirror.


    Data Collection & Analysis Packet
    You also receive a ruler to record the motion of the laser spot in real time.

       

    Copyright © 2003 - 2011 - All Right Reserved.

    WOW! I don't know about you,
    but I believe that Magnetometer High School Science Fair Projects
    are extraordinary for your Super Science Fair Projects!