Who remembers the first time you discovered that two magnets could snap together and stick like glue? Remember the force when you held two magnets close and felt them either attract (pull toward one another) or repel (push away)? One of the most amazing things about magnets is the way they can attract other magnets (or other magnetic materials) "at a distance," invisibly, through what we call a magnetic field.
Magnets having an invisible magnetic field that extends all around them. Another way of describing this is to say that a magnet can "act at a distance": it can cause a pushing or pulling force on other objects it isn't actually touching.
Many new roller coasters have an immediate launch off, instead of making gradual climb up a hill. “Has anyone been on one of these types of roller coasters?” The CopperHead Strike at Carowinds using this method.
This launch style roller coaster mainly uses magnets to achieve quick acceleration (increasing speed) at the beginning of the roller coaster ride. The quick launch of a roller coaster is due to magnetic propulsion.
Supplies Needed:
- 2 small 1/2" magnets
- 1 Popsicle stick
- toy car
- glue dots
Procedure:
- Glue dot one magnet to the end of the Popsicle stick.
- Figure out which side of the round magnet REPELS to the one on the stick.
- Glue dot the other side of the magnet and attach to the end of the car.
- Put the car on the floor. Take the Popsicle stick and put it near the magnet on the car and watch the it launch. See how far you can launch your car.
** Publisher's note: My oldest son just did this experiment this week during his after-school program with Atomz Lab and is obsessed with how this works. He cannot stop talking about it.
