The Effects of Temperature

on Magnetic Strength

Joseph Gault
Grade 9
February 2, 2008
Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School
 Types of Magnets

• Ceramic – composed of

powdered iron oxide and

strontium carbonate

ceramic; it is the most common magnet

because it is cheap and easy to produce

• Ticonal - alloy of titanium, cobalt, nickel,

and aluminum; developed by Philips for

loudspeakers
 Types of Magnets (cont.)

• Injection molded - composite of various types of resin

and magnetic powders, allowing parts of complex
shapes to be manufactured by injection molding;
generally lower in magnetic strength and they resemble
plastics

• Electromagnet - a wire that has been coiled into one or

more loops

– electric current flows through the wire, causing a

magnetic field to be generated

– commonly used in electric motors, junkyard

cranes, and medical equipment, such as an MRI

machine
 Uses of Magnets

Common uses for magnets:

• VHS Tapes
• Audio Tapes
• Floppy Discs
• Hard Drives
• Credit Cards
• Televisions
• Speakers
• Microphones
• Compasses
 Purpose

• The purpose of this experiment

was to determine:
– If the strength of a magnet would be
altered when placed in temperature
zones less than room temperature,
and warmer than room temperature.

– If the strength of the magnet would

remain changed when the magnet
returned to room temperature.
 Null and Alternative
Hypothesis
Null:
• Temperature changes will not
significantly affect the magnetic
strength of the magnets.

Alternative:
• The various temperature zones will
significantly affect the magnets’
strengths.
 Materials

• -80°C Freezer
• -20°C Freezer
• -4°C Refrigerator
• Room at 20°C
• 45°C Incubator
• 100° Drying Oven
• 30 Ceramic Magnets
• Extech True RMS Digital
Multimeter
• Gauss Attachment
• Tongs
• Gloves
• HP 39GS Graphing Calculator
 Procedure
1. 30 magnets were labeled (1-5) for 6
different temperature zones.
2. The magnetic strength of each
magnet was measured with a voltage
meter, and converted to Gauss using
the following equation:
B = 1000*(V0-V1)/k.
3. The 5 magnets of each group were
placed into the following
environments:
-80°C Freezer
-20°C Freezer
4°C Refrigerator
Room Temperature
Incubator – 45° C
Drying Oven – 100° C
 Procedure (Cont.)

4. The temperature of each magnet was

measured immediately after the
magnets were removed from the
environments.
5. The magnetic strength of each magnet
was measured immediately after
removal from the temperature zone.
6. Data was recorded.
7. The magnets were allowed to return
to 20°C.
8. The magnetic strength of each magnet
was measured.
9. Data was recorded.
 Experiment

4°C Room
Temperature

Recording the
Magnet’s
Strength

Drying Oven Incubator

 Results and Conclusions

• The north and south poles of the

magnets in the 4° refrigerator and
100° drying oven were
significantly affected by the
variation in temperature when
they were immediately removed
from the temperature zone.
• The north and south poles of the
magnets in the 45° incubator and
100° drying oven were
significantly affected when the
magnets returned to room
temperature.
 Results and
Conclusions
• My null hypothesis, stating that the
various temperature zones will not
affect the magnets’ strengths, was
supported by the magnets in the 4°
and 100° temperature zones.
• The magnets below 4° were
affected by the temperature
changes.
• The magnets ranging from 20°C to
45°C were affected by the
temperatures when immediately
removed from the temperature
zones.
 Limitations and
Extensions
• Two of the magnets stuck together.
This prevented me from recording their
strengths when they were taken out of
the temperature zone.
• I was unable to record the strength of
the magnets while they were in the
varying temperature zones. I had to
remove them to record their strengths,
and they began to return to 20°C.
• In the future, I would apply colder and
warmer temperatures to the magnets,
and try different methods of heating
and cooling the magnets, such as using
dry ice, or boiling water.
 Resources/Acknowledgements

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnet
• http://www.usc.edu/cssf/current/project
s/j1613.pdf
• How Things Work Volumes 1-4
• Fundamentals of Physics
• They Feynman Lectures on Physics
• The New Way Things Work
• My father and my teacher for
supervising my project
• My mother for proofing my project