Hello all,
I was just wondering if someone could help me with a theory. Lets say you have a compression spring, made of steel with a medium carbon content, and you wrap magnet wire around the spring from top to bottom. Would running a current through it cause the spring to compress due to the electromagnetic fields, or would it not work at all? Thanks in advance for the help.
Sincerely,
SM

 

Yes, if the spring is inside a solenoid then it will be compressed by the magnetic field.

 

what if it was not inside a solenoid. it is just a spring by itself with magnet wire wrapped around it.

 

Then I think the opposite would happen - the spring would extend.
Adjacent turns would be like two solenoids side by side with turns and current in the same direction. They would produce magnet fields in the same direction and hence repel each other.

 

That's what I had thought as well, but I wanted a second opinion before investing a lot of time in assembly.