Perimeter Institute: The Reality of FieldsMany students have a preconception that fields are "imaginary" because we can't see electric, magnetic, or gravitational fields. This 5-minute video will help dispel that myth to promote understanding of fields as real things with mass, energy, and momentum. Physicist Beatrice Bonga says as the video opens, "All physics is fields. I wouldn't even know how to do a calculation without fields." The video is straightforward enough for Grades 9-12 while introducing more complex concepts such as energy and momentum in fields, how fields can be measured using scalar and vector points, and why scientists view fields as mediators of interactions.
NASA Multimedia: Magnetism - Defining Our Planet, Defining The CosmosThis 23-minute video from NASA shows how Earth's magnetic field protects our planet from ionized particles from the Sun and our galaxy. But it's a standout because it does much more. it shows us the first aurora seen simultaneously from the ground and the ISS; it explains the newer Magnetosphere Multiscale Mission (MMS) and its quest to understand magnetic reconnection phenomena; it explores magnetic field (or lack of one) on the other planets in our solar system; provides beautiful images of auroras on Earth; and it illustrates the Milky Way's galactic magnetic field. Highly recommended by the editors.
UCLA Physics Videos: How do Magnets Work? PHYSICS!Finally! A video that actually explains what a magnet is from a lens of physics. In this 4-minute video, veteran high school teacher James Lincoln uses a broad variety of media to show how magnetic domains become aligned into a North/South orientation in magnetic materials. He then focuses on iron, cobalt, and nickel to explore why they are magnetic. His explanation of unpaired valence electrons and electron spin concepts are well-supported with visual aids and simple enough for beginners to understand. Much of Lincoln's work has been funded by the American Association of Physics Teachers.
NASA Visualizations: How Plasma Transports EnergyThis visualization the NASA Multiscale Magnetosphere mission (MMS) explains how plasma energy is transported in a type of wave in space known as a kinetic Alfvén wave. The theory behind Alfvén waves dates back more than 50 years but was only proven by NASA's MMS mission in 2017. The new data reshapes our understanding of how energy travels in plasma -- the particles released in solar flares. Watch the animation to see how Alfvén waves move through a plasma, where electrons traveling at just the right speed get captured in weak spots of the wave's magnetic field. After showing this video to students, try the "Magneto Mini-Golf" game under the "Activities" tab in the top menu of this DigiKit.
Arbor Scientific: Earth Itself is a Huge MagnetWell animated 5-minute video explores the nature of Earth's magnetosphere from both a 2D and a 3D perspective. Simple visuals explain the differences between Earth's geographic poles, magnetic poles and geomagnetic poles, a frequent stumbling block for students. An animated map shows how the magnetic poles have wandered (the North magnetic pole is currently on a pathway of movement from northern Canada to Siberia). Finally, the video discusses the flipping of magnetic poles on Earth -- a phenomenon that may be seen in the near future. This video could serve as a great warm-up for an introductory lesson on Earth's magnetic field.
NASA Science Casts: Earth's MagnetosphereThis 4-minute video explains how the magnetosphere surrounding our planet protects us from the fury of the Sun, a key factor in Earth's habitability. Magnetosphere is defined as the region of space around a planet that is dominated by the planet's magnetic field. The shape of Earth's magnetic field is the result of being blasted by solar wind.
Magnetic Games: View Magnetic Fields
This 2-minute YouTube video is a good way to "see" magnetic fields in 3D. You place clean iron filings in a glass bottle (roughly the shape of a liquor bottle), then place different "supermagnets" in various positions around the bottle. Great visualization of magnetic field for both attracting and repelling magnets.