electron magnetics can be fun
I have moved from "normal" electronic projects to a certain extent becouse what you build can be bought from the likes of china for a fraction of the price you can build.
One experiment turned up some interesting results while working on a project, i wound a insulated iron wire secondary OVER the top of a iron wire primary useing a closed magnetic core, a crt flyback core.
The results were interesting, both the voltage and current output were 3x the identical copper winding.
First of all the increased resistance of iron will make high currents pointless unless a heater is your aim. But the results are of interest, certainly for a lower power of around 500mA or less.
The physics very simplified are that you have increased the magnetic field/electric field? Think of the secondary as a magnetic core (like a iron transformer core), it will increase the induced voltage/current, you are wrapping iron around iron and both the core and the secondary will now increase output, with a iron wire primary and closed magnetic loop.
It also acts like a electro-magnet, becouse it is a iron wire transformer not a iron bar with wire wrapped around (a magnet) you have also induced usable voltage/current in the secondary. I have noticed that it forms a north/south pole at each output of the secondarys, this can be demonstrated, Connecting one secondary north pole to another secondary north pole will produce a resistance to current flow, unlike poles will not show a resistance, two secondarys are needed on the same transformer.
This effect creates a new component, in one direction it will show a resistance to current flow and reversed will show little resistance but no effect to voltage. With a perfectly wound primary and adjusted primary it will also cause the electrons to attract to the primary almost stopping current flow showing a potential difference across it`s output only.
The reduced current flow is becouse each iron atom in the secondary exposed to a electric field (the primary) will align electron orbits to form the north/south poles and north to north will repel. To understand this think of a copper winding around a iron bar, it makes a electromagnet with north and south poles it is the same as the iron wire secondary. The effect of stopping electon flow is when the primary and secondary electron poles are aligned perfectly so north to south face each other exactly. Note a magnetic field and electric field are different.
Iron wire is different from copper, each iron atom has unpaired electrons that shows a magnetic field, copper and all non magnetic materials have paired electrons that have a neutral magnetic field.
Also of interest is the secondary alignment of electrons by the primary field is connected with the physics of mutual induction, the angle of the primary to the secondary therefore relates to the voltage/current out.
What i am saying can be improved on but is correct.
Insulated iron wire is hard to get hold of except coated iron craft wire which is suitable for low(ish) voltage experiments.
I am crossing electronics with physics here so it may not compute with everyone.
Happy days and have fun.
Further note:
A electro magnet and magnetic induction found in transformers are connected.
The same physics that makes the electromagnet, wrapping wire around iron, will also magnetize a iron wire transformer, which is logical. It will also induce a voltage/current which is to be expected.
Mutal induction and electromagnets are the same process, that is the same process will magnetize and induce current (transformer action).
If the wire is non-magnetic it will of course not magnetize however it is the same physics involved.
By understanding the physics of how a magnet works we can get a picture of how mutal induction works at a atomic level, something that is missing from both electronic and physics books, take a look for yourself they only give a analogy.
We can find information on how a magnet works at a atomic level and we have the new developement of electronic components that uses the electron orbits of magnetic atoms for the next generation of electronic components known as spintronics as a resource as well, there is a vast amount of information on the net about this subject but do not be put off by the way it is presented, the basic idea can be simply explained.
The use of magnetics in electronics like the new components being developed is not just limited to universities, we can use real magnetic wire ourselfs as described in the previous post.
A magnetic core like a iron transformer core, lets wrap a primary around it and pulse/dc the primary with current. Have you not made a electro-magnet? Think about it.... the magnified magnetic field, wrapping wire around iron....could it be you have made a electro magnet? Get a flyback core, do the same with a primary with enough current do the two halfs not pull together? Ferrite has iron as a component.
Something to think about...