Why does my electromagnet not penetrate through cardboard?

So for a school project we decided on making a maze, where players will move an electromagnet behind a cardboard to manipulate a small metal object on the other side. The Magnet itself is strong, it can literally lift pretty heavy bolts and other heavy objects. But when we block the magnet with around 2-3 mm of cardboard not even a single paper clip is attracted. Any tips on making the electromagnet penetrate cardboard and attract objects on the other side? Typically a light metal nut. ANY ADVICE IS APPRECIATED! (We used 28 gauge enameled wire, and a normal 9V alkaline battery. The number of turns are really high and we concentrated the turns on a small place on the core) submitted by /u/tieiwo [link] [comments]

Jun 6, 2025 - 00:24
 0

So for a school project we decided on making a maze, where players will move an electromagnet behind a cardboard to manipulate a small metal object on the other side.

The Magnet itself is strong, it can literally lift pretty heavy bolts and other heavy objects. But when we block the magnet with around 2-3 mm of cardboard not even a single paper clip is attracted.

Any tips on making the electromagnet penetrate cardboard and attract objects on the other side? Typically a light metal nut.

ANY ADVICE IS APPRECIATED!

(We used 28 gauge enameled wire, and a normal 9V alkaline battery. The number of turns are really high and we concentrated the turns on a small place on the core)

submitted by /u/tieiwo
[link] [comments]