The experiment is designed to see if the force between two magnets is found with the formula m1m2/d^2 or some other formula.

The way to determine if the formula is correct is to measure the force of two individual magnets then see if the force between them approaches their product as the distance between them decreases.

An electronic gram scale
An 8-32 brass all thread rod a foot long
6 8-32 brass nuts
A 3/4 inch 8-32 brass machine screw
4 5/8 steel washers one of which has a brass nut glued in the center hole
A steel block 3/4 inch thick and 2 inch square
An aluminum block 1 inch thick and 3 inch square with a counter sunk hole drilled through the center and tapped with 8-32 threads
5 disc magnets with holes in the center three of which have brass nuts ground down and glued in the center hole.
A block"A" frame constructed of 1 inch aluminum angle wide enough for the scale to fit between the legs and eighteen inches high. The center cross beam has a slot cut in the center so the brass rod can be hung by nuts on the beam.The top beam has a 3/8 hole drilled through it over the slot.
a depth micrometer acurate to 1/1000 in.

The steel block is placed on the scale and put under the frame. The three brass nuts are threaded onto the end of the rod and the rod hung on the center cross beam of the "A" frame so the end of the rod is over the center of the steel block. Screwing the three nuts up or down the height of the all thread is adjusted to where the end of the rod is just off the steel block on the scale below and then the top two nuts are tightened together to form a stop. Using the depth micrometer the distance from the top end of the rod to top cross beam is measured and this is the base for distance measurements. The scale is turned on and set to zero. The rod is taken off the frame and one of the threaded magnets is screwed onto the bottom of the rod so the end of the rod is flush with the bottom of the magnet. The bottom brass nut is threaded down the rod about a half inch and the rod rehung on the frame. The strength of the magnet is measured on the scale in grams (neative) and the distance is then measured, using the micrometer, from the top cross beam. The lower brass nut is then threaded up the rod for a distance and the measurements repeated. This process is repeated getting multiple measurements until the magnet gets to close to the scale. The procedure is then repeated for the other threaded magnets. The resulting measurements are then plotted on graph paper and the curve extended to intersect the y axis. This should give the strength of the magnets.

The three magnets are the same strength.

The next step would be to lay one of the magnets on the steel block, adjust the zero point height of the rod and then again measure the force as the rod is lowered to the zero point. The question then arose is the distance between the magnets measured from the surfaces facing each other or from the center of the magnets like mass? To determine this the rod length was adjusted so the magnet was about a half inch above the steel block. The rod was taken off the frame and a steel washer was slid over the top of the rod to rest on the top of the magnet and the rod was rehung on the frame. If the strength of the magnet remained constant then the measurement would be from the surface of the magnets. If, however, the strength had decreased it would mean the distance had decreased as the center shifted and the measurement should be made from the center of the magnets. The strength of the magnet increased and adding more washers increased it further. The permanent magnet had induced a magnet into the washer and this additional magnet increased the strength of the magnetic field. The next method to determine where the starting point for measureing distance should be was to stack all 5 magnets together. The two end magnets were grasped and pulled apart. If the magnetic field was strongest in the middle and decreased from the center one of the end magnets would seperate from the stack. If the magnetic field was uniform through the stack of magnets and decreases from the end then the stack would break at the weakest magnet wherever it was. By rotating the magnets through the stack it showed that the later was the case and the distance should be measured from the surface of the magnet.

If the magnet is inducing magnetism into the washer it is also inducing magnetism into the steel block. So the nice parabolic curve is not the result of measuring the strength of one magnet but of the force between two magnets. The strength of the permanent magnet is constant while the strength of the induced magnet increases as the magnetic field inducing it increases. How strong is the induced magnet?

If the washer is slowly lowered over the rod the magnetic strength increases as it gets closer to the magnet. What does it do if it is lowered between the magnets? To determine this the two magnets with no nuts in the center were slid over the rod then a threaded magnet was screwed on to a distance about a half inch from the bottom of the rod. The threaded washers was then screwed on up to the magnet. The height of the rod was adjusted so the end of the rod was just above the steel block and the nuts were used to clamp the rod onto the top cross beam. The washer was then screwed down the rod to see what effect it had on magnetic strength. The reading on the scale was constant until the washer got about two thirds of the way down where the strength began to increase. Why would this happen? An induced magnet is created by the magnetic field of the permanent magnet creating another magnetic field. The washer has a magnet induced into it by the permanent magnet and the two magnetic fields combine to induce a magnetic field into the steel block. As the washer travels down the rod the magnetic field of the permanent magnetic is decreasing producing a weaker induced magnet in the washer. The magnet induced in the steel block is from the permanent magnet and the induced magnet in the washer. When the washer is against the permanent magnet it has the strongest magnet induced in it but the distance to the block is the greatest. As the distance between the washer and steel block decreases the strength of the induced magnet in the washer decreases so the total magnetic force between the two remains uniform. When the washer leaves the magnetic field of the permanent magnet it enters the magnetic field induced in the steel block. When it enters this magnetic field the magnet field induced in the block is attracted to the washer increasing the lift on the block. The closer the washer comes to the block the greater the attraction. This can be seen by using the aluminum block with a magnet attached with a brass screw. As the washer descend the rod between the magnets it has no effect on the force beween them until it reaches the point where the magnetic field intersect. At this point the force begins to increase. This is because the bottom magnet on the aluminum block is attracted to the washer and the closer the washer gets the greater the attraction. While the washer is in the magnetic field of the upper magnets it is invisible to the bottom magnet. This means the distance from the top magnets to the bottom magnet is not the distance betwwen the two magnets but from the top magnet to the magnetic field of the bottom magnet. When we did the test lowering the magnet towards the steel block on the scale and measuring the distance at the top of the rod we assumed the distance measured at the top of the rod corresponded to the distance between the block and magnets but this is not the case. As the magnet descends it induces a stronger magnet in the block which increases its magnetic field and by so doing changing the distance between the block and magnet greater than the amount measured at the top of the rod. We determined where to measure distance from but the point where to stop changes and our measurements at the top of the brass rod does not correspond to the change in distance between the magnet and block. The measurements made of the strength of the magnet on the steel block are not only from a increasing induced magnet in the steel block but also a shortening of the distance between the magnet and the block that is greater than the measured distance.

A magnet is surrounded by magnetic flux lines that are the magnetic field. The stronger a magnet the greater number of flux lines it has and the further they extend from the magnet. These flux lines are not uniformly spaced from the magnet with their density increasing closer to the magnet. When two magnets approach each other there are really three magnets. There are the two individual magnets where the flux line run from the north pole of the individual magnet to the south pole and there is a third magnet where the flux lines run from the north pole of one magnet to the south pole of the other magnet. The attraction between two magnets is the result of the combined flux lines not the flux lines of the individual magnets. The flux lines try to have as short a length as possible so when the flux lines of the two individual amgnets intersect they combine shortening their total length and this creates the third magnet.

Using the steel block we could not determine the strength of the magnets or the distance between the magnet and the block but we did discover that all three magnets were the same which gives us a means for doing the experiment. Using the brass screw threaded through the aluminum block we attach a magnet to the block. Adjust the screw so it does not extend above the surface of the magnet and place the block on the scale under the frame and tare to zero. Adjust the length of the rod to zero just above the magnet and repeat the procedure of measureing magnetic strength and distance that we used before. Since the magnets are equal there will be no induced magnetism and the intersection point will be half the distance between the two magnets. As the magnet is lowered the distance will be the same as measured at the top of the rod and the increase in attraction between the magnets will be a result of more of the flux lines of the individual magnets itersecting and combining. There is a problem however in that the flux lines are not uniform distance from the magnet. The flux lines close to the magnet are closer together than the ones more distant so we would need to factor in flux density to get an accurate picture of the force between magnets. To see what formula is more accurate in predicting the force between magnets pick a data point measured in the middle range. Using the formula F=m^2/d^2 to determine the strength of the magnets (m^2=fd^2) and then using the value obtained plot the theoretical curve for the force at different distances and compare the resulting graph to the one obtained by experiment. The data does not support the formula which is obvious from the curve of the graph. When the value of m is solved using all the data points the value constantly increases. If we solve for m useing the formula f=(m1+m2)/d or m=fd/2 and plot the expected curve it is closer to the data obtained by experiment. In addition if we solve all the data points for m the value for m increases then decreases which would be expected if the density of flux lines were also changing with distance. This makes sense if you think what is happening to the flux lines. The strength of the combined magnet would be the percentage of flux lines that have intersected and combined time the sum of the individual magnets and if the flux lines were uniformly spaced around the magnet the number of combined flux lines would be proportional to the distance between the mangets.

This is easy to test for. Using the depth micrometer measure the thickness of a magnet (.145 in). Put the aluminum block with magnet attached on the scale and tare. Hang the brass rod with magnet attached on the frame and measure the attraction between the two magnets. Using th brass hangin nut move the magnet up the thickness of a manget (.145 in.) and again measure the force between the magnets. Put one of the free magnets on the bottom of the magnet on the rod and rehang the rod. The resulting force between the three magnets is the sames as the sum of the measurements of the magnet in the two positions.

To determine how magnetic strength changes with distance we go back to where the adding of steel washers onto the magnet increased the magnetic strength between two magnets. Instead of using a steel washer where the induced magnet strength varies we will thread one of the magnets up the rod about an inch from the magnet at the bottom of the rod. The rod is then hung over the aluminum block and magnet on the scale so the bottom magnet is about a half inch above the magnet on the block. A mark is put on the top magnet and then the magnet is screwed down one turn. The incease in the attractive force between the bottom magnet and the block magnet is noted then the top magnet is screwed down another turn and again the increase in magnetic strength is noted. From this it can be seen that the strength of a magnet does not decrease as a cube of the distance but linearly with distance. Each turn increases the strength the same amount until the magnets get close together and there are more flux lines per unit distance. The idea that the strength of a magnet decreases as a cube of the distance must be a result of measuring the attraction with an iron or steel block where the varying strength of the induced magnet changes the strength of the magnet and the intersection point of the flux lines. By using a permanent magnet of equal strength the variance of induced magnetism is removed.

You cannot test magnet force using steel or iron blocks since an induced magnetism will give varying results. The force between two magnets is not equal to M1M2/d^2 but closer to (M1 +M2)/d and is actually (M1 + M2)(combined flux lines)/total flux lines.

To get the correct formula for the force between magnets we need to think of how energy radiates. A light will decrease as the square of the distance from it because it radiates in all directions and so decreases as the area of a sphere. The light from a flashlight or laser does not decrease as the square of the distance because it has direction. This direction means the light no longer expands over a sphere but is linear and decreases according to distance rather than the square of the distance. Since some of the light radiates in other directions the light will also decrease by the amount lost through radiation per unit distance. A laser will lose very little light through radiation while a flashliight will lose more. The srength of the light (S1) one unit distance from the source will be the percent of light (f) lost from radiation per unit distance times the strenght of the light (L) divided by the distance(d), S1=fL/d. The strength of the light (S2) two units from the source will be equal to f(S1)/2 and so on. Since a magnet is a directional flow of energy it behaves like a flashlight rather than a non directional radiating light. The strength of the magnet will decrease by the percentage of loss per unit distance times the strength of the magnet divided by the distance. The force between two magnets will be the sum of their forces at the point where their magnetic flux lines meet. When this line is plotted using a ten percent loss per unit length the graph closely matches the results from the experiment.

HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS

The light from a unshield source will decrease as the square of the distance from it since the light at any location is a function of the area of the sphere at that point. With a flash light or laser the intensity of the light does not decrease as the square of the distance since it has direction and is not spreading over the entire surface of a sphere as an undirected light. This is also true of magnetism where the flow of energy is directed rather than radiated in all directions. Magnetism is the flow of energy which will flow to areas of lower energy. This results in the energy or magnetic field not in the path of the energy flow being a function of the square of the distance from the energy source while the energy in the flow is decreased by the energy radiated. The sun's energy flows out in the direction of the poles while the energy the planets experience from the sun is decreased by the square of the distance from the sun. It is like a spot light shining into the night sky. From the side you see the beam of light whose intensity decreases as the square of the distance from it while an object at the same distance in the path of the light is illuminated by much stronger light. This is the way magnetism, or the flow of energy, works but the question is why doesn't the energy flow out equally in all directions? The answer lies with how energy is affected by matter. Positive matter attracts energy while negative matter repels energy. The nucleus of an atom would attract the flow of energy while the electrons orbiting it would prevent the energy from radiating in that direction give direction to the flow of energy. The more protons in the nucleus the more attraction for energy and the greater the flow. Why when a hydrogen atom is formed by adding energy to a neutron the electron follows the right hand rule I do not know. The elecron would be attracted to the proton but repelled by the energy attracted to the proton. The energy would force the electron into an orbit and the orbiting electron would give the energy direction but why the electron always goes in one direction relative to the energy flow is a mystery to me.

EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE NATURE OF NEUTRON

The purpose of this experiment is to determine if the neutron is a particle with no charge or a subatomic molecule containing both negative and positive charges. The discovery of the neutron was made by sending subatomic particles between two plates, one charged negatively and the other positive. The electrical charges caused the proton and electron to deflect towards the oppositely charged plate while the neutron was unaffected by the charges. This result led to the conclusion that the neutron had no electrical charge. However, if the neutron is a molecule made up of an electron and proton and having both a negative and positive charge it would simply rotate so each charge faced the oppositely charged plate and pass between the plates without being deflected.

The design of the experiment needs a source of neutrons contained in a shielded container with a small hole in one end. The neutrons escaping from this hole are passed through other shielded plates with holes in them producing a beam of neutrons similar to a laser beam. The beam is directed at a detection plate some distance away. Parallel to the beam and a short distance from it is a metal plate capable of holding an electric charge. Any charge applied to the plate will attract the opposite charge of a neutron molecule and repel the similar charge. This means that what the experiment must exploit is that the attractive force is greater than the repelling force since it is closer to the plate. Since the difference in distance consists of the diameter of a neutron the neutron must be exposed to the charge over a large distance in order for this minute difference to cause the molecule to deflect towards the plate. The size of the charge on the plate dos not matter since any increase or decrease will affect both the attraction force and the repelling force. It also doesn't matter if the charge is positive or negative since both will cause the neutron to deflect towards the plate.

The person who does this experiment must calculate how long the charge plate must be in order to get a significant deflection of the neutron beam and must see if it needs to be done in a vacuum in order to prevent scattering of the neutron beam. They also must have access to a neutron emitting radioactive material which is not available at Home Depot.

GOOD EXPERIMENTS - BAD THEORY