Lab 13

Magnetic Potential Energy Lab

October 12 2016

Goal:
We intend to verify conservation of energy applies to a system of two magnets, and create a model of magnetic potential energy (MPE) vs. kinetic energy.


Procedure and Analysis:
We have no equation to calculate MPE so we will instead create our own by collecting data about the force repelling the two magnets and the distance between them when the system is in equilibrium. We can say that the force of gravity is equal to the magnetic force in this situation. By integrating the curve of this magnetic force we can obtain our magnetic potential energy, which we will compare to our kinetic energy to find if energy is conserved in our system.
We will create a system of magnets repelling each other by using an air track with a magnet attached to a skiff and the other magnet attached to one end of the track. We set up a motion tracker to collect kinetic energy data for our system. The motion tracker will also tell us the distance between the magnets which tells us our MPE. We graph both functions on the same image to obtain a visual representation of conservation of energy.

Conclusion:
From our graph we can see that the relationship between MPE and KE is inverse, Our total energy stays fairly consistent in the relevant region of our graph, specifically the area regarding energy conversion from kinetic to magnetic and back again. This aligns with our understanding that energy is conserved. Sources of error could include limited capabilities of our tracking equipment along with 'un-smooth' pushes to the cart.