Make a spinning motor with a minimum of parts.

1. Make it.

First, if your copper wire is insulated, strip the insulation off. Bend the top of the wire into a hook shape. Press the tip into a sharp point with the pliers. Wrap the wire in a spiral form around the body of the battery, as shown in Figure 1. The wire should be just loose enough so it will not contact the battery case.

Next, place 2 metallic disc magnets on the battery’s negative terminal. Adjust the shape of the wire so the top rests on the center positive terminal and the bottom just touches the side of the magnet. The length, when twisted, from the tip of the top hook to the bottom of the wire should be 2".

2. Try it.

Once the wire makes contact with the top battery terminal, it will spin. If it does not, carefully bend and adjust the wire so that it is free to move and make contact properly. To make the wire spin in the other direction, turn the magnets over.

3. Understand it.

When the wire touches the battery’s positive top terminal and the side of the magnet, electricity flows through it. The wire becomes magnetic and is repelled by the 2 disc magnets. When the wire moves away from the magnet, it disconnects from the battery and loses its magnetic field. It falls back to its original position and contacts the side of the magnet. Then, it connects to the battery through the metallic magnet and becomes magnetically charged again, and the cycle repeats.

Since the wire coil is suspended by its sharp tip on top of the battery’s positive terminal, when it’s repelled from and returns to the magnet, it rotates slightly. The cycle occurs so rapidly that it produces a circular motor motion.