Flip Coils - Physics Demonstrations - Flip Coils | Physics Undergraduate Labs

Magnetron magnets produce strong fields that can affect pacemakers, damage magnetic media, and attract ferromagnetic objects rapidly. Keep credit cards, watches, and electronic devices at least 30 cm away. Warn audience members with pacemakers or other medical devices.

Purpose

A coil inserted into a strong magnet and flipped 180° produces a voltage pulse on an oscilloscope. Students observe that the pulse height depends on flip speed while the integrated area (total flux change) remains constant, directly demonstrating Faraday's Law.

Agilent oscilloscope displaying induced voltage pulses, with a flip coil held by hand near a C-shaped magnetron magnet on a wooden base

Figure 1: Flip coil and magnetron magnet connected to an oscilloscope. Rotating the coil 180° produces a voltage pulse whose integral gives the total flux change.

Flip Coils

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Safety Warnings

Warning: Strong Magnetic Fields

Purpose