Re: Magnets - Hatch Cover

Posted by Camper on Aug 4, 2006

For the brave experimenters among us:

Theoretically, if you could arrange for a magnetic short circuit when the hatch was closed, then the effect on any compass would be eliminated.

This would require U-magnets on both boat and hatch. When the two U-magnets came together, the magnetic flux would be short-ciruited and confined almost entirely to the interior of the magnets. (The small air gaps would create some small stray flux)

I don't know if this theory would work in practice. I'm sure it's been tried, like everything else.

I do know that rare earth U magnets are frowned upon, so it would require that you use a weaker type of magnet like steel, iron, ceramic, or AlNiCo. Rare earth U magnets tend to stick together with too much force; I suppose you could argue that if they were tiny enough, they should work, too.

End of theoretical ramble :-)

In Response to: Re: Magnets - Hatch Cover by Laszlo on Aug 4, 2006

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