🌱 a physics lab about magnets, motion, and learning by doing
this project explores magnetic torque — the twist a magnet feels when it’s placed in a magnetic field. using helmholtz coils and a magnetized snooker ball 🎱, we ran a series of experiments to see how magnetic fields cause objects to rotate, oscillate, precess, and even balance against gravity.
the goal was to take ideas from electromagnetism and watch them happen in real life ✨
- how helmholtz coils create a nearly uniform magnetic field
- how a magnetic dipole tries to align with that field
- the balance between magnetic torque and gravity
- how magnetic fields affect:
- oscillations
- precession
- measured field strength (hall effect)
- forces on a spring
different setups, same core idea: magnetic fields can apply real, measurable forces.
- theory makes way more sense when you can see it
- the same magnetic moment shows up across many experiments
- careful measurements matter (a lot)
- lab work is basically debugging… but for physics 🧠💻
- progress > perfection ✨
this lab helped me connect equations to experiments, build confidence with data analysis, and appreciate how much learning happens through trial, error, and curiosity.
🌟 learning as i go, one experiment at a time