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James Rossy
8B
Selwyn House
Curie Point
January 26, 2004
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Table of Contents:
................................................. 2
Abstract: ............................................................ 3
Introduction: ..................................................... 4-6
Method: .......................................................... 7-8
Results: ............................................................. 9
Discussion: ................................................... 10-11
References: ....................................................... 12
Appendix: ......................................................... 13
Acknowledgements:
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Acknowledgements
The first person I would like to acknowledge is Mr. Moffat. He lent me magnets
small and powerful enough to allow me to successfully complete this project. I would
also like to thank the staff at Réno Dépot for helping me find the rest of the supplies I
needed. There’s also the matter of thanking the makers of computers, internet and search
engines but I’m not quite sure who to thank for that.
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Abstract
The goal of my project is to answer the following question: If different types of
magnetic metals are heated up, will it affect their magnetism? The three metals that were
tested are nickel steel and iron. My hypothesis is: If I heat up the metals iron, steel, and
nickel, they will remain magnetic. The independent variables in this project are the
metals chosen, the temperature they are heated up to, and the power of the magnet used.
The dependent variable is whether or not the magnet will attract to the metals and if so
the degree of attraction. After experimenting I discovered that though steel and nickel had
no noticeable change in magnetism after fifteen minutes of heating, iron had lost almost
all it’s magnetism by then.
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Introduction
Magnets and metal are both very big aspects of modern day life. Without
magnets, there could be no electric motors and generators and without metal most
buildings wouldn’t exist. Magnets are used as a way to transport magnetic metals all over
North America because of how efficient they are and how little they cost. What if this
method of transport wouldn’t be affective anymore because of the hot climate? If metals
lose their magnetism when they’re heated up then some hot areas of the world will be at
loss because of their inability to use this cheap system of transportation.
Magnets were actually first discovered and used a long time ago back in ancient
China. It is the ancient Chinese who invented the compass. The modern history of
magnets dates back to 1820. Hans Christian Oersted demonstrated magnetism by using
an electric current to heat a wire. He then placed a compass on a wooden stand a couple
of meters away. He noticed that every time the electric current was switched on, the
compass needle moved and pointed toward the current. Years after this other discoveries
were made in the field of magnetism by Andre Marie Ampere, Michael Faraday, James
Clerk Maxwell and Heinrich Hertz. The field of metal dates back to sometime before
2000 BCE in south-west or south-central Asia. The only metal used was bronze. Many
years later bronze was completely replaced by iron. Iron was the main metal for almost
3000 years until replaced by steel at about CE 1870. From that time to now many new
metals such as nickel, copper, brass and many others have been discovered and the metal
industry is now extremely large and still growing.
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The ideas and terms used in this project are fairly simple. By leaving a circuit
running long enough it will cause the metal used in it to heat up and once it does a
magnet will be placed in front to see if it retained it’s magnetism. The main terms used
are heat, metal, magnets and electricity. The only two terms that may cause some
confusion are magnetism and a circuit. Magnetism is a characteristic that shows whether
or not the material is attracted by a magnet. A circuit is a source of electricity and a
conducting material (electricity can pass through) linked together so electricity can pass
through and return to the power source.
The field of magnets isn’t and has never been a very controversial field and
neither has metal. They have both been areas of research that have greatly benefited
society. The idea that is interesting about this field is that they are both topics that will
continue to be studied and new information about them will continue to be found. This is
why both magnets and metals will be a very large part of the world of tomorrow.
Magnets and metals have both had a very interesting history and will also have a
fascinating future. Magnets are often used in modern day world and their usage continues
to expand. They are used in compasses, telephones, computers, even computers. As for
metal, it is used in almost 80% of all large constructions in North America and this
amount is increasing. Magnets are an efficient source of power and metal is a strong
material for construction so of course they both have bright futures ahead of them.
Magnets are starting to be used in Maglev trains (Maglev trains operate without wheels as
they 'float' above the track by using magnetic repulsion between electromagnets in the
track and bottom of the train. Maglev trains can travel up to 480 km/h [300 mph]) and
other types of transportation. Metals are one of the most popular building materials of all
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and most likely will be for many years to come. The great thing is new types of metals
are still being discovered.
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Method
When magnetic metals are heated up, will they lose their magnetism and if so
how much? This is the question that will be answered by the experiment that will be
conducted. Three metals will be experimented, iron, steel and nickel. This test involves
three steps; build, heat and observe. What I will be building is a circuit (see appendix 1).
A circuit consists of a power source, material that will conduct the electricity create a
current and usually something that would use the power. In this case there is nothing that
will use the power because it is the metal that is conducting the electricity that will be
studied. To build a circuit, the materials needed will be:

A power source (batteries)

A conducting material (metal wire)
The second step is to heat the metal wire. To do this, create a current. Do this by
connecting one end of the metal wire to the positive end of the power source and the
other end to the negative end of the power source. Leave the current running until the
metal becomes hot. (View example below)
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The third and final step is to observe. Conduct this experiment with all three
metals and record the results. For an even more accurate answer to the question that this
test answers, conduct this test with more than three magnetic metals.
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Results
Observations were made after observing the metals heat for five, ten, and fifteen minutes.
These are the results:
After 5 minutes
test 1
test 2
test 3
test 4
test 5
Steel
Iron
Nickel
100% 100%
100%
100% 100%
100%
100% 100%
100%
100% 100%
100%
100% 100%
100%
After 10 minutes
test 1
test 2
test 3
test 4
test 5
Steel
Iron
Nickel
100% 100%
100%
100% 100%
100%
100%
50%
100%
100%
40%
100%
100% 100%
100%
After 15 minutes
test 1
test 2
test 3
test 4
test 5
Steel
Iron
Nickel
100%
10%
100%
100%
0%
100%
100%
5%
100%
100%
0%
100%
100%
0%
100%
The percentages represent the degree of attraction. Even after fifteen minutes,
steel and nickel showed no noticeable change in magnetism. Iron on the other hand lost
about half of its magnetism two out of five times after ten minutes. Rather than attaching
to the metal from a position of rest, it only leaned in that direction. After 15 minutes, iron
had lost virtually all of its magnetism. This proves that my hypothesis was incorrect and
heat does affect a metal’s magnetism.
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Discussion
Based on the results I obtained after three rounds of experimenting with the three
different metals, steel nickel, and iron, I have discovered that my hypothesis is incorrect.
Iron did lose its magnetism when heated to a high enough temperature.
After further research I discovered that the experiment I conducted provided
slightly inaccurate information. By continuing my research I found out that both steel and
nickel can also lose their magnetism when heated to high enough temperatures. In fact,
all magnetic metals can.
I created a running circuit to heat up the metals. This works fine but it can only
heat the metal used in the wiring to a certain temperature that isn’t extremely hot. I did
not have the necessary resources to raise the metals to a sufficient temperature to reach
their Curie point.
Magnetic metals are made up of atoms that are like tiny magnets. Since they are
magnets they all have a north and a south pole but the atoms all point different directions.
When a magnet is placed on the metal, the atoms line up and the metal becomes a magnet
and creates a magnetic field. That is why the metal is attracted to other magnets. This
process is called magnetization.
Magnetization can be disturbed by high temperatures. The heat makes the atoms
move back and forth and ruins the alignment. This creates a change from ferromagnetism
to paramagnetism. The temperature needed for this to occur to a metal is called the Curie
point or Curie temperature. Different metals have different Curie points. This was
discovered by Pierre Curie.
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I still need to test more metals and find a tool to measure their
temperatures to determine the Curie points of different metals. I can also see if there is a
special type of metal that has a very unusual Curie point. Perhaps there is a metal that is
magnetic but has no Curie point because of a special type of atoms. Only more tests will
tell.
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Reference
Web pages:
http://www.science.ca/askascientist/viewquestion.php?qID=155
http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/curie_point.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/xref/exhibits/curie_point.html
http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/JCESoft/CCA/CCA2/MAIN/CURIE/CD2R1.HTM
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entries/33/c0813300.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibit_services/exhibits/c/curie_point.html
http://www.hocktools.com/diyht.htm
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Appendix
Appendix 1: