I actually have a question about electromagnetism, a field that unfortunately I know almost nothing about. I thought this place is probably the best forum to put it in, If I'm wrong, sorry, just... err... move it wherever it should be.

 

I know that electromagnetism is an EXTREMELY powerful force - and I've heard that it's a force higher 1e39 times from the force of gravity.

It's also, as I know, the force that stops my atoms from passing through other matterial objects, like the table or the floor.

 

My question is this:

 

When we have a very powerful Electromagnet - do we feel it's repelling force PHYSICALLY on our body? Or, on different words - how strong should it be in order for us to feel (not be 100% affected by it, like fly to the other side of a room, I just mean FEEL) its effect on our bodies.

 

For instance, if I put my hand close to an Electromagnet - will I feel some sort of "field" that would make it more difficult to get CLOSER to that electromagnet?

 

Sorry if it sounds idiotic, I was just having thoughts about the subject after hearing about the meaning of this extremely strong force.

 

Thanks,

 

~moo

The reason that the force is said to be much stronger than gravity is (as a comparison of basic units) each particle has MUCH more charge than it has mass.

 

You won't be significantly affected by an electromagnet (a few of your particles may change spin states, that kind of thing), because, except for ions, it all cancel's out over long distances, because you have a net charge of 0 (equal numbers of protons and electrons) in the same approximate space. This is why gravity actually operates over large distances, whilst EM doesn't; there isn't any antimass. (Well, ish)

So how powerful (theoretically) an electromagnet should be in order for me to feel it's force?

I dunno, probably anything over a Tesla could be "felt".

 

http://www.hfml.sci.kun.nl/froglev.html

 

(note: that figure was a wild guess, but 16 Tesla floats a frog)

Well, you should see the ones used to levitate frogs. They are HUGE!!! I assume one for a human would be huge too.

It floats a frog!!! Seriously?!

 

Wow. Awsome.

 

That would also electrecute me to death, though, won't it?

No. Unless you have LOTS of iron in you. See, it would induce electricity in iron, so if you have enough iron it could start to produce a charge. But I think the frog survived. You'd probably need so much iron that your blood would have huge clumps in it. Ow.

Yah.. ow

 

So basically if I can create a big enough device I can just jump on it and fly.

 

True?

 

And.. just something I thought about now... if that device is "repelling" me - it probably does any other mollecule, right? So basically is it safe to assume there will be less air close to the device itself?

No, hang underneath it. On top you might just fly off.

It's not repelling, it's attracting. Repelling is different.

Any other molecule very weakly. VERY! The magnet for a person would be, say, the size of a house.

Okay I lost you.

 

Let's get back to frogs instead of people, to make it simpler.

 

The frog is "flying" over the device - levitating - I thought that means the em is repelling it's body... doesn't it??

And if it does - then it SHOULD repel other - smaller - molecules, like present in the air...

 

Am I wrong?