How to Shrink a Quarter with Electricity

TL;DR

Using powerful electromagnets and high currents, coins can be shrunk by inducing magnetic fields and currents within them.

Transcript

Last month I made a video about an exploding can. It was an electromagnet that cut a can in half and it was like boom. And that was awesome. But what you guys were really interested in was this. It's a tiny little quarter. Look, it's a itty bitty George Washington. Yeah, I made it into an earring. We shrunk a quarter, or rather the performance grou... Read More

Key Insights

• ✋ Electromagnets and high currents can be used to shrink coins by inducing magnetic fields and currents within them.
• ✋ The process involves wrapping a coin with a coil and running a high current through it.
• 👥 Different groups, such as ArcAttack and Hackerbot Labs, have experimented with shrinking coins and capturing the process on camera.
• 🏑 The shrinking process involves the Lorentz force and changing magnetic fields.
• 💦 Safety precautions and expertise are necessary when working with high currents and electromagnets.
• 🏪 The potential energy stored in the capacitor is discharged to create the magnetic field needed for shrinking.
• 🪙 A variety of coins can be shrunk, with CapturedLightening.com showcasing different types of currency before and after the process.

Questions & Answers

Q: How is a quarter shrunk using an electromagnet?

A quarter is wrapped with a coil and a high current is run through it, inducing a magnetic field that causes the coin to shrink.

Q: What is the purpose of the capacitor in the shrinking process?

The capacitor acts as a large battery and stores a high amount of voltage, which is discharged to create the strong magnetic field.

Q: Can other types of coins be shrunk?

Yes, different types of coins from various countries can be shrunk using the same process, as demonstrated on CapturedLightening.com.

Q: How does the shrinking process work on a physics level?

The current running through the coil produces a magnetic field, which in turn induces currents in the coin. These currents, subject to the Lorentz force, cause the coin to shrink.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The video explores how coins can be shrunk using electromagnets and high currents.

• It mentions the performance group ArcAttack and their experiments with shrinking coins.

• Another group, Hackerbot Labs, captures the process of shrinking a coin in slow motion.