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    Home » How To Defy Gravity – Magnet Trick

    How To Defy Gravity – Magnet Trick

    August 9, 2017 By Emma Vanstone Leave a Comment

    This is a fantastic and easy demonstration of gravity and magnetism that will impress kids of all ages. The paperclip doesn’t fall down because it is attracted to the magnet and doesn’t jump up to the magnet as it is held in place by string making it look like the paperclip is defying gravity!!

    If you like this magnet trick I’ve got 100s more fun kids science experiments to try!

    Magnet and rocket experiment - defy gravity with a magnet
    Image from This IS Rocket Science

    Materials

    Cardboard box

    Cardboard

    Skewer – remove the sharp ends

    Magnets

    Paperclip

    String

    Instructions

    We added a butterfly to our paperclip and drew a background of flowers, but this was purely for decoration, you could just use an empty box and plain paperclip.

    First tie one end of your string to a paper clip and sellotape the other end to the bottom of your box. The length of the string should be about 1cm shorter than the box.

    Place your magnet on top of the box ( or stick to the inside if you’d rather ).

    Hold the paper clip just under the magnet, you should find it floats in the air, making it appear to defy gravity!

    magnet experiment - flower themed

    Our next step was to add a method of winding and unwinding the string, which we did by wrapping the string around a skewer. This allowed us to slowly shorten the length of the string so we could find out exactly how far under the magnet the paperclip could be. We also found that this made our butterfly spin!

    Defy gravity

    Magnet Trick – Extension tasks

    Try placing a ruler inside the box and measure how far the paperclip will sit below the magnet without falling down. Use different strength magnets to investigate if that changes how far under the magnet the paperclip sits.

    Defy gravity

    Why does this happen?

    The magnetic force between the paperclip and magnet is stronger than the gravitational pull of gravity. This means the paper clip remains suspended in the air rather than falling to the ground.

    What is Gravity?

    Gravity is a force that attracts objects towards each other. It is gravity that keeps us on the ground, when we jump up gravity pulls us back down towards the centre of the Earth.

    What is a Force?

    A force is either a push or a pull, forces can make objects speed up, slow down or change direction.

    More Gravity and Magnetism Experiments

    Gravity Experiments

    Make paper spinners and watch them spin as they drop to ground

    Investigate gravity with easy straw rockets

    Get a craft stick to balance on a chopstick like Rookie Parenting.

    Can you make a list of activities that need gravity to make them work? Rollercoasters would be one..

    Magnetism Experiments

    Try one of our 10 easy magnetism investigations.

    defy gravity with an easy magnet investigation - magnet experiment #scienceforkids #magnetexperiments


    Contains affiliate links

    Last Updated on April 27, 2020 by Emma Vanstone

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    Safety Notice

    Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

    These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

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