A few weeks ago the class activity was a generator experiment. The experiment began by taking a flashlight that used a metal coil and a magnet to produce energy and shaking it. It was observed that after only a little amount of shaking the flash light began to work, emitting a bright light. Groups then deduced that the more amount of shaking that was done to the flash light the longer the light would last. And experiments were done to test this hypothesis.
The foundation for the shakable flash light lies in electromagnetic inductance. Michael Faraday discovered in the 1830’s that an electrical current was created when a magnet was passed through coil of wire. In order for an electrical current to be created the magnet needs to be perpendicular to the wire when it is passed by the conductor, so that the lines of flux disturb the conductor appropriately. These are the principles behind the shakable flash light which is also referred to as the Faraday flashlight.
