Move a Charge (Make a Magnet)

Music by Kenny Alphin and John Rich
Words by me

Well, a current through a wire makes a compass needle turn
And I burn, and I yearn to internalize all there is to learn.
The magnetic lines curl right around
When the current’s flowing straight down the wire:
With more spacing as you move away.

When electric charges move, ’cause they’re feeling energetic,
They create a brand-new field, whose effect is so magnetic.
Any charge to cross those lines feels a right-handed force
All the boys say, “Move a charge, make a magnet!”
Everybody says, “Move a charge, make a magnet!”

When a charge moves around in a circle, or a coil or solenoid,
Then what it sets up is a dipole field!
In a permanent-type magnet, the field begins with electron spins, then some align:
They combine to make a bigger yield.

When electric charges move, ’cause they’re feeling energetic,
They create a brand-new field, whose effect is so magnetic.
Any charge to cross those lines feels a right-handed force
All the girls say, “Move a charge, make a magnet!”
Everybody says, “Move a charge, make a magnet!”

Since that Lorenz force might be a sorce
Of confusion in a physics course
Use your right hand to understand
Where to aim qv × B.
For closed paths around a magnetic field
Induced potential is revealed
By the rate of change of flux inside those loops.
This leads to applications such as power generation
And that elegant creation, the transformer:
Where power in equals power out, stepping voltage up steps the current down
The high-voltage side wraps the field more times around.
You got that now?

When electric charges move, ’cause they’re feeling energetic,
They create a brand-new field, whose effect is so magnetic.
Any charge to cross those lines feels a right-handed force
All the boys say, “Move a charge, make a magnet!”
All the girls say, “Move a charge, make a magnet!”
What? What? “Move a charge, make a magnet!”
Everybody says, “Move a charge, make a magnet!”

Sing Along!

Download the music and join in! Right-click on the links below to download the music (a MIDI file; applications such as Windows Media Player, can play this file), or, if you’re feeling brave, the accompaniment only, so you can sing the vocal line!

• Right-click to download the Music (MIDI file)
• Right-click to download the Accompaniment only (MIDI file)

Note: If you right-click the links, your browser may play the files, but it may not. It depends on what add-ins it has installed. If you left-click on the links, you can directly download the files and play them with whatever player you have that works. Since these are MIDI files, they may sound different on different players.