magnetismplanets

Planetary Magnetism

by Paul Doherty

We'll start by doing magnetic explorations of the magnetic field of the Earth, then look at other planets.

Where's North?, Repeat an experiment that could lead to the discovery of the compass.

Magnetic Poles, Use magnets to feel the forces that magnetic poles exert on each other.

Magnetic Globe, Explore the magnetic field of the earth at its surface and in space.

Magnetic Tape, Use short pieces of cassette tape to model the magnetic field of the rocks underlying the ocean.

Here is some information on the magnetic field of the earth and the planets in our solar system.

Resources: Web

This workshop and others can be found on my website:

http://www.exo.net/~pauld
at
http://www.exo.net/~pauld/activities/magnetism/magnetismplanets.html

The Exploratorium Website is also a great source of science activities:

http://www.exploratorium.edu
try
http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/snackintro.html
and
http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/index.html

also our Aurora Site

http://www.exploratorium.edu/auroras/index.html

http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/index.html

Books

A good up-to-date book about planets is The New Solar System, 4'th Edition. J. Kelley Beatty ed. Cambridge Univ. Press 1999.