Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Cut metal strips from the metal cans using tin snips. Three of the strips need to be 4 inches long and one strip 7 inches long.
Screw one end of a wire into a wood board. Bend one of the smaller metal strips in two places giving it a slight "S" look. Use two screws to bolt the metal strip to the wood board so that the loose end is hovering over the screw and wire. Make sure that you will be able to press the metal down onto the screw as needed.
Lay two batteries top to bottom on the other board. Screw a small metal strip to each side of the batteries, bending the metal strips as necessary to keep pressure against the batteries. Use a rubber band or string at the top of the metal strips to keep constant pressure.
Wrap the wire around one of the iron nails. Use a minimum of 200 turns of the wire around the nail, cut and attach the end of the wire to the closest battery screw. Drive the end of the nail into the wood to hold your newly created electromagnet in place. Cut a strip of wire to run from the other battery metal strip to the metal strip on the other piece of wood to complete the circuit.
Bend the large strip of metal into another "S" shape and screw it into the wood so that the other end floats above the electromagnet. Hammer the other iron nail into the wood so that the top of the nail prevents the large metal strip from moving too far from the magnet. Press down and touch the metal strip from the other board to the screw. Watch as the electromagnet pulls down the large metal strip making a clapping sound. Short taps are dots and long holds are dashes.
Put one end of the machine in one room and the other end in another room. In order to talk back and forth, you will need to build a second machine.