The National MagLab is funded by the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida.
These demonstrations about laws and tools associated with electricity and magnetism allow you to adjust variables at and to visualize invisible forces — which makes them almost better than the real thing.
Seeing is believing. In these animations, we show you what electricity and magnetism might look like if they weren't invisible.
Learn about electricity and magnetism — and have some fun while you're at it!
How do Maglev trains work? What are comets made of? How do bugs walk on water? This section demonstrates these and other concepts related to magnetism, electricity and other areas of science.
Whether you prefer your science short & sweet or long & detailed, we spell it out for you here in easy-to-understand language.
Read fun science stories told in comic strip style.
There is beauty and art in science. Gaze on these stories of discoveries that could be featured on museum walls instead of scientific journals.
Explore these surprising, unconventional and sometimes downright strange stories about high magnetic field research.
These special science graphics explain science stories in digestible steps and include optional detours for readers wanting more background to customize your reading journey.
Get to know these pioneers who went down in history for their groundbreaking work, including scientists behind common terms such as Amp, Celsius, Kelvin, hertz and tesla.
From the world's first compass to the magnetic force microscope and beyond, explore a variety of instruments, tools and machines throughout history.
Our timeline takes you through the highlights of electricity and magnetism and across the centuries.
Take a field trip to these high magnetic field landmarks around the globe.
In 1855, a French physicist created a device that illustrated how eddy currents work.
Eddy currents are the magnetic fields induced when a solid conductor (a material in which electrons travel easily) moves within an applied magnetic field. Their motion brings to mind eddies caused by disturbances to a flow of water.
French physicist Leon Foucault discovered the phenomenon and in 1855 created a device to illustrate it, what became known as Foucalt’s disk.
The heat when the electromagnet is turned on is the result of the eddy currents. These circular electron currents are induced inside the copper disk, and their direction opposes the direction in which the disk is turning. That resistance results in heat. It also has a braking effect. This is why the disk turns faster after the electromagnet is off. If you were actually turning the crank, you would need to turn it harder while the magnet is on to maintain the same speed. This phenonemon has been harnessed in train brakes and other uses.
