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Neodymium Magnet in Copper Pipe

By Corky Swanson, on September 1st, 2012

Neodymium Magnets

Mighty, Amazing and Mighty Amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neodymium magnet in a copper pipe video

Drop a neodymium magnet through a copper pipe and it slows down.  

What is going on here?  

When the powerful neodymium magnet travels through this heavy copper pipe it slows down as though the force of gravity has been reduced.  

Is this an example of anti-gravity?

Perhaps the neodymium magnet is slowed by magnetic attraction to the copper pipe?  

No, the magnet is not attracted to copper.  We can see that in the first few moments of the video.

If it were a steel pipe, the neodymium magnet would immediately stick to the pipe.

So if it’s not magnetic attraction, what is going on?  Magnetism is apparently involved but how?

What’s your hypothesis?

If you would like to conduct your own experiments or demonstrations, cheap neodymium magnets are available.

You can buy one of these amazing neodymium magnets on Amazon by clicking on the photo below.

Neodymium Iron Boron (NDFeB) Rare Earth Magnets Super Powerful Neodymium Magnets, many times stronger than ceramic or iron magnets Pull Force is 91 lbs, strong enough to require extreme care Highest performance, Low Price Size: 1″ diameter x 1″ thick Quantity: package includes two magnets

Neodymium is a “rare earth.”  Rare earth magnets are extremely powerful and useful for electronics applications.  

Imagine tying a disk like the ones below to a string?  You could pick up one-pound metal objects “fishing” down a non-magnetic pipe.  What happens when you put them on a wooden dowel?  A copper dowel or heavy wire?  I have no idea!

Neodymium Rare Earth Magnet Rings

3/8″ Outer Diameter, 1/8 ” Inner Diameter, 1/16″ Thick Pack of 12 1.2 pounds of pull perpendicular to a flat, ideal holding surface.

 Any theories on why a neodymium magnet would slow down as it falls through a copper pipe?  

Would the same thing happen with an aluminum pipe?  

What if the pipe had thinner walls?  Please share your scientific theories or whether you share my conviction that magnets are magic!

Here are some fascinating science gifs

5 comments   Electronics, Reviews

Curiosity Rover’s Electronics and Computers Face Test on Mars

By Corky Swanson, on July 16th, 2012

 Mars looms, a cruel environment for the Curiosity Rover.

Just enough atmosphere to slow down the Curiosity Rover spacecraft to 1,000 miles per hour, but not enough to finish the job.

Never before has mankind attempted such a risky concatenation of electromechanical devices to land on another planet.

For the Mars Rover Curiosity to survive, Jet Propulsion Engineers and Scientists are counting on electronics, pyrotechnic bolts, heat shields, cables, rocket motors, programming – everything —  to work perfectly.

Watch this film to grasp how aerospace electronics have advanced.  See the lengths to which engineers have gone to get the heavy Curiosity safely to Mars.

Even more shocking, see  the ambitious sequence of multiple  electronic and mechanical deployments engineers have planned.  

Engineers are counting on multiple electronic devices to keep their creation, the Curiosity Mars rover, from crashing onto the surface of Mars.  Will they succeed?

The film is called Seven Minutes of Terror.

 

Remember to watch the Curiosity landing at 10-31 PDT on August 5, 2012.

Check the Jet Propulsion Laboratory site for Curiosity Rover updates.

One comment   Electronics   ,  

Failures in Electronics

By Corky Swanson, on July 15th, 2012

I just saw this video about failures in electronics.

Your attitude toward failures in electronics may reflect a general attitude toward failure.

There is a line in this video that goes against what most of us have been taught:  “Celebrate failures because you will make a lot of them.”

The author of this video is not afraid of failure, is prepared for failure, knows how to deal with failure, embraces and celebrates failure.

She takes stuff apart and often that is not the plan of the manufacturer.  

Ever try and unscrew those red painted screws inside electronic devices? You can do it but these screws are manufactured to fail. The red screws are made out of cheap pot metal. So when you try and take apart a device with red screws, you are tempting fate and asking for failure.  Did you stop trying to unscrew those red screws?  I did.

Risking failure?  Even seeking out failure?

Speaking only for myself, I avoid failure.  I hate it.  I take it personally.  I spend a great deal of time anticipating and avoiding problems.

Are you like that?  It can be debilitating.  Sure you don’t fail much, but how many things don’t you even try?

But what if I were a different kind of person?  Like the author of this video.

What if I could look forward to failure?  How much more could I learn?

Listen carefully to this engineer/tinkerer who tells us how to proceed in her style.

The name of this video is 

Secret to Learning Electronics – Fail and Fail Often

 

 

What is your attitude toward failure?  Can you imagine becoming comfortable with failure?

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2 comments   Electronics
 
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