WaveWatcher: Does the magnet react differently between the states of 'motion with weightlessness' and 'weightless without motion'? Indeed, this is related to a heated debate that crops up on the forums. It goes like, "If I rotate a magnet on its magnetic axis, can this be "seen" by a pick-up coil?" The answer to that one is no, with the caveat that no magnetic field is going to be perfectly symmetrical and there will be minor perturbations that will be sensed by the pick-up coil. The main point being that even if the magnetic field is "rotating" the only thing the coil can see is changing magnetic flux with respect to time. A symmetrical "rotating" magnetic field on the magnetic field's axis looks the same as a stationary magnetic field. So the answer to your question is no, the magnet will not react differently. It's falling through a magnetic field that is unchanging, like horizontal filaments all parallel to each other. And I realize that you suspect something is going on there because of your observations. The problem is that you are up against 150+ years of working with and testing magnetic fields, and the chances of any related effects from falling through a uniform horizontal field going unnoticed are realistically zero. None the less, you have a conundrum! 1. What is the mechanism for the difference in change intensity between the magnet with no motion (suspended) and motion (falling)?
2. Why does the magnet align with the geomagnetic filed line under no motion and anti-align under motion? I kind of answered your questions above. I am also still suspecting mechanical inertia is the dominant game player here. For example, it would be hard to measure, but if you could measure the wobble oscillation frequency for one of your magnets and the time it takes to fall then you would have an idea about how much of an angle the magnet could deflect during the fall. Suspending the magnet by a thread to measure the oscillation frequency would not work because the thread itself is a torsion spring. I am not sure how far you want to go but I hope that you are having fun with the challenge! MileHigh P.S.: This experiment makes me think of something that has always fascinated me - knife throwing. An expert knife thrower can throw a knife at a target from any distance and 99.99% of the time the knife will hit the target blade-first and stick. We probably all have had that experience as kids throwing knives and somehow you just "feel" it and you get the knife to land properly 90% or more of the time, from any throwing distance also. What's going on there???!!!! lol
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Topic: Falling Magnet (Read 13755 times)
