MAGNETOMETER
Function and Construction
Theory
The magnetometer that we built is used as a compass composed of a few different parts:
A general water chamber in which we put a magnet attached to a mirror which was lowered into the water.
If done correctly the magnet should face in the north/south direction.
The laser’s job is to point its ray at the mirror and then to the screen on which we drew a scale that would show the degrees of the angle.
The next step is to put the helmholtz coils which are aligned to the east/west direction. It’s flux density should be the same as earths.
If that is true, the magnet should reflect the ray at exactly 45° from north/south.
The laser is powerd by a power supply, connected to the breadboard that is used to control the volts – voltage.
1. B= μ0nI/R
2. Bearth= Bmagnet/tanα
The 1st formula is B magnet, which is to calculate the flux density of the B magnet force.
The 2nd formula is Bearth which is the earths magnetic field, which is measured by dividing the B magnet and the tan α.