How to Make a Piece of Metal Into a Powerful Magnet
- 1). Strip the insulation from each end of the copper wire using wire strippers. You only need to remove a few centimeters of insulation from each end.
- 2). Wrap the wire around the nail, leaving just enough length unwrapped to attach the ends to the battery. Coil the wire around the nail in only one direction.
- 3). Attach the ends of the wire to the positive and negative terminals of the D-cell battery. You can attach either end of the wire to either terminal and the magnet will still function; the difference will be in which end of the nail attracts and which repels (polarity).
- 4). Test the magnet by placing the entire contraption near nails or other magnetic (containing iron) materials.