Does Temperature Affect Magnetic Strength

Can Temperature Affect Magnetic Strength?

For my science fair project, I chose to test out if temperature can have an affect on magnetism. I hypothesized that the lower the temperature is of the magnet, the stronger it would be. I guessed this based this estimate from my background knowledge on the topic. From what I know, a magnet’s source of attraction comes from the magnetic fields. The magnetic fields are located on the poles of the Earth, which are considered to be one of the coldest places on the planet.

My procedure involved a small magnet and 32 paper clips. I placed a number of paper clips on a surface, and then took the magnet and stuck it into the pile. After lifting the magnet up, I counted how many paper clips had attached onto it. I repeated this test ten times. After that, I calculated the average. This test was performed for an unaffected magnet which represented my control, a chilled magnet, and a heated magnet. To get them to their temperatures, I left the control at room temperature. The chilled magnet was put in a refrigerator for about an hour, and the heated magnet was placed into boiling water for about 15 minutes. For every test, I made sure that the amount of paper clips was consistent because it was one of my control variables. Once I finished that, I moved onto the final steps of my project.

As a result, the chilled magnet had the highest average of collecting 28 paper clips, and the heated magnet had the lowest average of 18 paper clips. The unaffected magnet had the average of 25 paper clips. I concluded that when a magnet has a cooler temperature, its magnetism is stronger. As of the opposite, the magnet would be weaker if it were in a warmer environment.

Overall, my hypothesis was right, but my reasoning wasn’t. I’ve learned that magnetic strength comes from the domains being lined up. When the magnet is heated, and the molecules move faster, it appears that they reduce the alignment. Conductors and strong magnets are typically very cold to begin with. I do consider this as an accurate experiment. There were no major errors or mistakes that I had encountered while carrying it out, but there is always room for more improvement. I could’ve performed more tests to have a more specific average. If I had used more paper clips, I would’ve probably had a better average. All in all, I thought it was a reasonable test.

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