Enter_Narne

No. I am lucky to have a son. Period. But thanks for the kind words.

I just realized what I wrote doesn't read correctly. I meant: Can the individual ball bearings that are actually touching a magnet be attached to the ruler/track and not effect the device's action? I realized the answer last night. They can be attached to the ruler/track. Here's why we think so. In normal operation the moving ball bearing hits the magnet (which is attached to the ruler/track) and transfers its energy to the magnet. The magnet is still able to transfer this energy to the ball bearing that is touching it. Therefore, if the magnet is attached to the ruler/track and still be able to transfer energy to the next ball bearing then that next ball bearing should be able to transfer that energy as well if it is attached to the ruler/track. However, I think some of the energy that the magnet gains from the moving ball bearing is actually transfered to the ruler/track due to it being physically attached to it. Does this sound right?

We are going to try the experiment that is shown on the following website called a Gauss Magnet Gun. http://scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/magnets/gauss.html My son says cool and I must admit I say cool too. So we have more questions. We don't have all our supplies yet or we would be able to answer these questions ourselves. 6. Can the ball bearings, that are positioned next to the magnets before the device is triggered, be attached to the ruler/track and not effect the device's action?

This is great. Thanks for the info. We are going to be working with neodynium magnets. Does the same thing apply to them as far as: 2. Do neodynium magnets weaken over time? 3. If I take a neodynium magnet and force its north pole next to another magnet's north pole and keep them like that for a long time will they become weaker?

Hello, I'm a new member. If I am posting in the wrong forum please help by telling me where to post on this topic. I'm interested in doing some science projects with my son. We've seen some interesting things with magnets. I want to be able to answer his questions about some of them. Some of the questions are: 1. Can magnets be shielded so they do not attract nearby metals and/or other magnets? The way I described it was like helping Superman out by putting the kryptonite in a lead box so it can't harm him. 2. Do magnets weaken over time? If so how long does it take to happen? 3. If I take a magnet and force its north pole next to another magnet's north pole and keep them like that for a long time will they become weaker? 4. Is there a list of the metals that magnets will stick to? 5. If I had a metal container and filled it with magnet filings and sealed it with a metal lid would that container act as one large magnet? Thanks for all your help in advance.