Uploaded January 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Making a battery train
Equipment: bare copper wire, rechargeable 3.2V battery, marker, neodymium magnets, double-sided tape.
Wind a copper wire around a marker to obtain a tight helix with a 2 cm diameter. Attach the neodymium magnets to the poles of the 3.2V battery. Place the train in the helix – and it takes off! Please note: the train heats up while moving through the helix. If the train doesn’t move, try flipping the magnets to change their poles.
When the magnets touch the copper wire, an electric current, created by the rechargeable battery, starts flowing through the coiled wire. The current simultaneously generates a magnetic field, which pushes the magnets and the train along with them.
Perform cool experiments with MEL Science!
Safety precautions: Warning! Only under adult supervision
Making a battery train
Equipment: bare copper wire, rechargeable 3.2V battery, marker, neodymium magnets, double-sided tape.
Wind a copper wire around a marker to obtain a tight helix with a 2 cm diameter. Attach the neodymium magnets to the poles of the 3.2V battery. Place the train in the helix – and it takes off! Please note: the train heats up while moving through the helix. If the train doesn’t move, try flipping the magnets to change their poles.
When the magnets touch the copper wire, an electric current, created by the rechargeable battery, starts flowing through the coiled wire. The current simultaneously generates a magnetic field, which pushes the magnets and the train along with them.
Perform cool experiments with MEL Science!
Safety precautions: Warning! Only under adult supervision
