Adjacent Words

electro-magnet definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Magnet Mag"net, n. [OE. magnete, OF. magnete, L. magnes, -etis, Gr. ? ? a magnet, metal that looked like silver, prop., Magnesian stone, fr. Gr. ?, a country in Thessaly. Cf. Magnesia, Manganese.] 1. The loadstone; a species of iron ore (the ferrosoferric or magnetic ore, Fe3O4) which has the property of attracting iron and some of its ores, and, when freely suspended, of pointing to the poles; -- called also natural magnet. Dinocrates began to make the arched roof of the temple of Arsino["e] all of magnet, or this loadstone. --Holland. Two magnets, heaven and earth, allure to bliss, The larger loadstone that, the nearer this. --Dryden. 2. (Physics) A bar or mass of steel or iron to which the peculiar properties of the loadstone have been imparted; -- called, in distinction from the loadstone, an artificial magnet. Note: An artificial magnet, produced by the action of a voltaic or electrical battery, is called an electro-magnet. Field magnet (Physics & Elec.), a magnet used for producing and maintaining a magnetic field; -- used especially of the stationary or exciting magnet of a dynamo or electromotor in distinction from that of the moving portion or armature.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Electro-magnet E*lec`tro-mag"net, n. A mass, usually of soft iron, but sometimes of some other magnetic metal, as nickel or cobalt, rendered temporarily magnetic by being placed within a coil of wire through which a current of electricity is passing. The metal is generally in the form of a bar, either straight, or bent into the shape of a horseshoe.