Title: Physics on the Guitar

Original: 13 October 2006

Revision: 6 July 2011
Authors: Jim Overhiser and Luke Donev
Appropriate Level: Regents Physics
Abstract: The guitar is one of the most common instruments in contemporary
music. There are several aspects of the guitar that can be used to
teach basic physics concepts; this lab focuses on magnetic pickups
in an electric guitar. Students are led through a series of
explorations to build experience with basic concepts in magnetism
and electromagnetism. At the end they are asked to put these
concepts together to explain how an electric guitar works.
Time Required: Two 40 minute periods
NY Standards Met: 4.1 j Energy may be stored in electric or magnetic fields. This
energy may be transferred through conductors or space and
may be converted to other forms of energy.
4.1 k Moving electric charges produce magnetic fields. The relative
motion between a conductor and a magnetic field may
produce a potential difference (voltage) in a conductor.
Special Notes: Physics on the Guitar is a kit available from the CIPT Equipment
Lending Library, Xraise.classe.cornell.edu.

Created by the CNS Institute for Physics Teachers via the Nanoscale
Science and Engineering Initiative under NSF Award # EEC-0117770,
0646547 and the NYS Office of Science, Technology & Academic
Research under NYSTAR Contract # C020071

Xraise Outreach for CLASSE

161 Synchrotron Drive, Wilson Lab, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
xraise.classe.cornell.edu
Behavioral Objectives:
Upon completion of this lab a student should be able to:
 explain that an electric current generates a magnetic field.
 explain that a changing magnetic field induces an electric current in a nearby closed loop of
wire.
 explain and demonstrate how ferromagnetic materials can become magnetized in the
presence of a magnetic field.
 apply concepts of magnetism and electromagnetism to explain how a magnetic pickup on an
electric guitar functions.
 explain how a loudspeaker works.

Class Time Required: Two 40-minute periods

Teacher Preparation Time: 5-10 minutes to set out kits and materials

Materials Needed: Kits available on loan from the CIPT lending library at
Xraise.classe.cornell.edu. List of materials available on CIPT web site.

Assumed Prior Knowledge of Students:

 Basic electricity concepts
 Definition of electrical current
 Current flows only in a closed loop
 Basic magnetism concepts
 Definition of N-S poles
 Sketching magnetic fields
 Sound waves are variations in air pressure that can be caused by vibrating objects

Background Information for Teacher:

How magnetic pickups work
At the core of magnetic pickups are magnets. Each magnet is oriented so that an imaginary line
through the north and south poles will intersect with the string above it. A thin copper wire
coiled around the magnet so that the axis of the coil aligns with the N-S axis of the magnet.

The basic physics behind pickup is Faraday's Law of Induction. It states that a changing magnetic
field can cause an electromotive force in a nearby wire. An electromotive force will be created
as long as the wire is not parallel to the direction of the changing magnetic field. If the wire is a
closed circuit or loop, then a current will flow. (See “Faraday’s law of induction” in
www.wikipedia.com for the full mathematical description.)

Since Faraday's Law states a changing magnetic field makes an electric current, how does the
magnetic field from the fixed permanent magnets of the pickup help? That's where the guitar
string comes into play. The string is made of nickel and steel (iron and carbon), materials that
are ferromagnetic. The magnetic field from the permanent magnet in the pickup causes the
string to become magnetized, or to become a magnet itself. When the magnetized string
vibrates, it creates a changing magnetic field above the pickup coil. This, in turn, makes a
current flow (in the coil) that tracks the vibration of the string, and we have a working pickup!

Page 2
Teacher Section – Physics on the Guitar
Vibrating Strings
Understanding a vibrating string helps to understand how pickups
sound. The diagram to the right shows a string vibrating over a
pickup, viewed end-on. When you pluck a string, the string does
not vibrate in a plane (red line), but in any number of planes, or
circles (green), or ellipses (white). In fact, the ellipses can even
rotate around their center as the note decays. This means that
what you hear depends on how you pick the string, a
phenomenon familiar to guitarists.

Harmonics
When you pluck a string it vibrates in the fundamental, second harmonic, third, fourth, etc., all
at the same time. However, the pickup only detects string vibration when the string is vibrating
near the pickup. It ignores the tones that have a node where the pickup is positioned. This has
the effect of filtering the tones on the string.

On many electric guitars, two pickups are used on each string

(see diagram to the right). Pickups are usually mounted close
to the bridge, so each one is seeing the fundamental in some
measure. That is, the string is moving either toward or away
from all the pickups at the same time. When the signals
coming out of the two pickups are added together, the
fundamental has a strong signal.

For the seventh harmonic, the pickup on the right is at an

antinode, getting a lot of signal, and the pickup on the left is at a node, putting out little signal.
When the signals are added together, this harmonic comes across relatively strong.

For the tenth harmonic, the pickup on the right has the string moving away from it when the
other pickup has the string moving toward it. This causes the signals from the pickups to cancel,
so this harmonic is reduced in volume.

The distance between the pickups affects which harmonics will add and which will cancel. For
example, humbucking pickups filter out higher frequencies because the two pickup coils are
relatively close together. That is partly why humbuckers have a more mellow sound with less
high end than single coil pickups -- the higher harmonics are canceling. The Stratocaster® sound
is produced by a different spacing of the pickups. The coils can even be connected “out of
phase” to produce an entirely different sound.

Magnet Type
There are many types of magnets in common use. Ceramic magnets are inexpensive, but brittle
and do not produce a very strong field. These are commonly used in crafts and as refrigerator
door magnets.

Other common types of magnets are:

 aluminum nickel cobalt [AlNiCo] (inexpensive)
 samarium cobalt (strong but expensive)
 neodymium boron iron (strongest and expensive)

Page 3
Teacher Section – Physics on the Guitar
There are some trade offs involved in pickup design. First, a stronger magnet means that fewer
turns of wire are needed for a certain audio output. That means that the pickup can be smaller.
If the pickup is made in some standard size, a stronger magnet produces more audio output.

However, the stronger magnet types are much more expensive. That's why most pickups use
less expensive AlNiCo magnets. Also, stronger magnets are not the cure-all for electric guitar.
Since the guitar strings are ferromagnetic and are attracted to the magnets, the pickups can
affect the vibrations of the strings, which is bad since the pickups are only there to sense the
vibrations, not change them.

Designer Sounds
When considering all the variations on pickup construction (magnet type, magnet position,
magnet strength, wire size, number of turns on the coil, pickup position in the guitar), it is
apparent that a nearly infinite variety of sounds are available. The first electric guitarists built
their own pickups, and some aficionados still do.

(The above was adapted from “How do guitar pick-ups work?” By Hank Wallace available at
http://www.aqdi.com/pickups.htm. Some of the basic physics in the original document is
incorrect, but it contains a lot of information and is quite readable.)

Answers to Questions: send request for answers to [email protected]

References:

 How do guitar pick-ups works? By Hank Wallace (website)

http://www.aqdi.com/pickups.htm
 Smith, Monica. 2001. “The Electric Guitar: How we got from Andres Sergovia to Kurt Coban”.
Invention and Technology, Summer 2001, Volume 20, Issue 1 (online article)
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2004/1/2004_1_12.shtml
 The Guitar by Sam Hokin (website)
http://www.bsharp.org/physics/guitar
 Physics of the Acoustic Guitar by Ian Billington (website)
http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211.web.stuff/billington/main.htm
 How does a guitar work? By Joe Wolfe, University of South Wales, Department of Physics,
Sydney, Australia (website)
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/guitarintro.html

Page 4
Teacher Section – Physics on the Guitar
1

5 11
2 3 10
4
6

7
8 9

13

19

15 16

12
14 17
18
20

Item Number Quantity Item

1 1 Simple Physics Guitar
2 1 Mono plug to alligator adapter
3 1 Neodymium magnet (1/4”D x 1.5”)
4 2 Ceramic magnet (1/2”)
5 1 “Pick-up Stick”
6 1 each Paper stick, plastic stick and short piece of guitar string
7 10 Paperclip
8 1 each Iron nail, aluminum nail and 1” washer
9 1 C cell battery
10 1 Plastic cup
11 1 Galvanometer +/- 500 A
12 1 Pocket radio
13 1 Auto speaker 4”
14 1 Amplified speaker
15 1 Small plastic bag
16 1 Iron fillings
17 1 Compass
18 1 CNS Coil – plastic tube coiled w/copper
19 1 Storage box
20 2 Banana plug to alligator patch cords – Not shown

Page 1
Equipment – Physics on the Guitar
 THE ELECTRIC GUITAR

Electromagnetic induction is the process of using magnetic fields to produce voltage, and in a
complete circuit, a current. Michael Faraday first discovered it, using some of the works of Hans
Christian Oersted. His work started at first using different combinations of wires and magnetic
strengths and currents, but it wasn't until he tried moving the wires that he had any success. It
turns out that electromagnetic induction is created by just that - the moving of a conductive
substance through a magnetic field (or the moving of a magnetic field past a conductor).

Electrical power generation is an obvious application of electromagnetic induction. Most

generators work with a small loop of wire inside a magnetic field, oriented so that it may spin
and move the wire through the magnetic field lines. This wire is connected to a turbine or some
other spinning wheel, which is driven by steam, moving water, wind, or some other source of
energy.

Electric guitars also make use of Faraday’s discovery. Pick-up coils,

consisting of a small magnet wound with wire, allow a stringed
instrument to be “electrified” and amplify its sound output. Credit for
the discovery/invention of the electric guitar is somewhat
controversial, but most historians give credit to Leo Fender in the
1940s. In this lab you will learn how a pick-up coil works and use a
home-made pick-up to play the “physics guitar.” Leo Fender

I. What does electricity have to do with magnetism?

One of the basic pieces of an electric guitar pick-up is a simple coil of copper wire. In this
activity you will see the simple connection between electric current in the copper coil and the
magnetic field it creates.

Materials:
 CNS coil (See Figure 1)
 Compass
 C-cell battery

Procedure:
 Place the compass next to the CNS coil. Observe
how the compass behaves as the CNS coil is brought Figure 1
closer.

Page 1
Student Section – Physics on the Guitar
Figure 2
 Now connect/hold the two bare wires to the + and – terminals of the C cell battery and
observe what happens to the compass needle when the CNS coil is placed close to the
compass face. (See Figure 2)
 Use the compass to explore the magnetic field around the CNS coil.

Answer related questions on the student data sheet.

II. How strong is an electromagnet?

During this activity you will insert several materials into the CNS coil and observe the effect on
the strength of the magnetic field created when voltage is applied.

Materials:
 CNS coil
 Paperclips
 Iron nail
 Aluminum nail Figure 3
 Paper lollipop stick
 Plastic stirring stick
 C-cell battery

Procedure:
 Without connecting the CNS coil to the battery, see how many paperclips it can pick up.
 Connect the CNS coil to the battery and see how many paperclips it can pick up.
 Next, place an iron nail inside of the CNS coil (see Figure 3) and see how many paperclips it
can pick up.
 Repeat Step #3-4 using an aluminum nail, paper stick and a plastic stick.

Answer related questions on the student data sheet.

IIIa. What did Faraday tell us?

Faraday's Law of Induction states that a changing magnetic field causes an
electric field to be set up in a nearby wire, causing a current to flow if the wire Michael Faraday
is part of a closed circuit.

Materials:
 CNS coil
 Small neodymium rod magnet ¼” diameter x 2” long
 Mini-amplifier
 Mono-plug with alligator connectors
 Compass
 Galvanometer

Procedure:

Page 2 Figure 4
Student Section – Physics on the Guitar
 Using the compass, determine the orientation of the poles of the neodymium magnet rod.
Record your observation on the student data sheet.
 Connect the CNS coil wires to the galvanometer using the two patch cords supplied in your
kit. (See Figure 4).
 Place a 1/4" diameter neodymium rod magnet inside the CNS coil.
 With your fingers covering the two ends of the coil, move the magnet inside the CNS coil at
varying speeds and observe the effect.
 Now slide the magnet in only one direction and observe the galvanometer response.
 Flip the magnet around and slide the opposite end in and observe the glavanometer
response.
 Now connect the CNS coil wires to the
small speaker-amplifier using the mono-
to-alligator adapter. (See Figure 5.) Amplifier

 Again, place a 1/4" diameter neodymium

rod magnet inside the CNS coil.
 With your fingers covering the two ends
of the coil, move the magnet inside the Figure 5
CNS coil at varying speeds again and observe the effect.
 Remove the magnet from the CNS coil. Holding the CNS coil steady, move the magnet in and
out of the CNS coil and observe the affect on the mini-amplifier.

Answer the appropriate questions on the student data sheet.

IIIb. White noise, the Humbucker pickup and the Barkhausen Effect
In this activity you will observe the Barkhausen effect, which is a name given to the noise in the
magnetic output of a ferromagnet when the magnetizing force applied to it is changed. The
sudden transitions in the magnetization of the material produce current pulses in the
surrounding coil that will be amplified by the mini-amplifier.

Materials:
 CNS Coil
 Small neodymium rod magnet ¼” D x 2” long Amplifier
 Mini-amplifier
 Mono-plug with alligator connectors
 Iron nail
Figure 6
Procedure:
 Place the iron nail into the CNS coil and connect the CNS coil wires to the small speaker-
amplifier using the mono-to-alligator adapter. (See Figure 6)
 Set the volume on the amplifier low enough so that there is no audible white noise hiss.
 Move the neodymium magnet around the outside of the CNS coil and observe the effect.

Answer the appropriate questions on the student data sheet.

IIIc. The making of a magnet

Page 3
Student Section – Physics on the Guitar
In this activity you will study the interaction between a magnet and a common metal guitar
string.

Materials:
 Small disk ceramic magnet
 Small sealable plastic bag
 Iron filings
 Compass

Procedure:
 Use the compass to detect the location of N and S poles on a
ceramic disk magnet.
 Place the disk magnet with N pole up into a sealed plastic Figure 7
bag. (See Figure 7)
 Sprinkle a small amount of iron filings on the top of the bag
over the magnet. Tap the bag gently and observe the
magnetic field lines shown in the filings.
 Carefully reach into the bag and reposition the magnet so
that it is on its side. (See Figure 8) Again, sprinkle a small
amount of iron filings in the outside of the bag and observe Figure 8
the field lines shown by the filings.
 Remove the magnet from the plastic bag being extra careful not to get any of the iron
filings on the magnet.
 Lay the end of a piece of guitar string from the kit on top of one of the small disk magnets
and let it lay there for a few seconds. (See Figure 9)
 Sprinkle a small amount of iron filings onto a separate piece
of paper. Guitar string
 Pick up the guitar string and dip the end that sat on the
magnet into the filings. Tap it a few times, pull it out and
observe the results.
Figure 9
 Use the compass to see if it is possible to detect the location
of the North and South poles on the guitar string.

Answer the appropriate questions on the student data sheet.

IV. Electric guitar pick-up

In this activity you will apply what you have observed to explain how an electric guitar pickup
works.

Materials:
 “Pick–up stick” (See Figure 10)
 Mini-amplifier
 Simple physics guitar Figure 10
 Mono plug to alligator adapter

Procedure:

Page 4
Student Section – Physics on the Guitar
 Attach two wires on the electric “pick-up stick” to the mini-amplifier using the mono plug to
alligator adapter.
 Turn the amplifier to the on position and turn the volume knob to maximum.
 Slide the “pick-up stick” magnet under one of the strings in the region close to the bridge on
the Physics Guitar. Make sure the magnet does not touch the string.
 Pluck the string. Move the magnet in and out from under the string while it is vibrating and
observe what happens.

Answer the appropriate questions on the student data sheet.

Page 5
Student Section – Physics on the Guitar
Extension Activity (Speakers)
Prior to doing this activity the student needs to review the hand-rule for magnetic force on a
current carrying wire.

V. Talking back to the speaker

In this activity you will identify the parts of a common loudspeaker (driver) and consider how it
works relative to the force created by the interactions between magnets and coils of current-
carrying wire.

Materials:
 Mini-amplifier
 Mono plug to alligator adapter
 Small loudspeaker

Procedure:
1. Study Figure 11 and find the coil and the
magnet.
2. Connect the mini-amplifier to the small speaker
using the mono-to-alligator adapter. VERY
GENTLY tap the loud speaker and observe the http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/speaker3.htm
effect.
3. Using the same set-up, talk into the loud speaker Figure 11
as if it were a microphone. Observe the effect
on the amplifier.

Answer the appropriate questions on the student data sheet.

Page 6
Student Section – Physics on the Guitar
VI. Simply speaking
In the previous activities you observed how moving a magnet (magnetic field) perpendicular to a
coil of wire can create a current in the coil of wire. Now you will reverse the process by sending
a current through a coil of wire.

Materials:
 CNS coil
 Small radio
 Mono plug to alligator adapter
 2 small ceramic disk magnet
 12 oz Styrofoam cup
 Iron nail Figure 12
 Compass

Procedure:
 Set the 2 small disk magnets to the top of the nail (see Figure 12). Position the point of the
nail close to the compass and observe the interactions.
 Flip the small disk magnets on the top of the nail and, again, observe the interaction with
the compass.
 Push the iron nail through the bottom of a Styrofoam cup until the head is at the bottom.
Place the small ceramic disk magnets on the head. (Refer to Figure 13)
 Slide your CNS coil over the nail as pictured in the illustration to the right.
 Find a strong station on a portable radio. Connect the CNS coil to the earphone jack on the
radio using the Mono plug to alligator adapter and observe the results (refer to Figure 13).

RADIO

Styrofoam
cup

Figure 13

Answer the appropriate questions on the student data sheet

Page 7
Student Section – Physics on the Guitar
 Physics on the Guitar
Student Data Sheet

I. What does electricity have to do with magnetism?

1. Describe the effect on the compass when a current passes through the coil.

2. Using the compass reading, label the north and south end of your copper coil on the
illustration below.

3. On the diagram of the coil below, indicate the direction of the current flowing in the coil and
the direction of the magnetic field caused by the current.

+ -
4. If you reversed the leads (+/-) by flipping the battery what happens to what you observe on
the compass. Why?

5. Study the labeled illustration in #3. If the fingers on your right hand represent the current
direction in the copper coil, to which compass pole is your thumb pointing?

6. Define “electromagnet” in your own words.

II. How strong is an electromagnet?

7. Fill-in the following table relative to the number of paperclips.

In the copper Number of paperclips picked up
coil
Nothing
Iron nail
Paper stick
Plastic stick
8. Some materials become “magnetized” when exposed to a magnetic

Page 1
Student Data Sheets – Physics on the Guitar
 field. This is called induced magnetism. Which materials were magnetically induced when
placed in the core of the electromagnet?

9. Describe what you think happens on an atomic level when something becomes magnetized.

10. Why do you think electromagnets often have iron cores?

11. The picture to the right is a junkyard magnet that is capable

of lifting an entire car. They are all large round disks of iron
(steel) and powered by electricity. Below is a picture of the
coil that might be on the inside of one of these large
electromagnets. Draw the rest of the disk showing the
current direction and the correctly labeled magnetic poles.

Wind
direct
ion

IIIa. What did Faraday tell us?

12. What does a galvanometer measure?

13. Below are three illustrations of the activity you did sliding the magnet inside of the coil. On
each of the illustrations draw 4 sets of magnetic field lines around the cylindrical magnet.

14. The two illustrations here show a copper coil and a set of arrows showing the direction of
the coil winding. On both illustrations draw an arrow showing the general direction for the
magnetic field as the magnet slides through the coil.

Page 2
Student Data Sheets – Physics on the Guitar
15. Describe the orientation of the magnetic field relative to the coil of wire when the current is
created.

16. How did changing the speed of the magnet affect the current?

17. What happens to the current direction when you flipped the poles of the magnet and slide it
through the coil?

18. No current is produced when the magnet is not moving. Describe why you think a non
moving magnet does not create the current.

19. In the space below, describe why you think you heard a noise in the amplifier when you
moved the magnet inside of the coil.

20. Write Faraday’s Law in your own words.

IIIb. White noise, the Humbucker pickup and the Barkhausen Effect

Read the following:

Barkhausen noise: A coil of wire wound on the ferromagnetic material can demonstrate the
sudden, discontinuous jumps in magnetization. The sudden transitions in the magnetization of
the material produce current pulses in the coil. These can be amplified to produce a series of
clicks in a loudspeaker. Discovered by German physicist Heinrich Barkhausen in 1919, it is
caused by rapid changes of size of magnetic domains in the core.

21. Describe what you observed when the magnet was moved near the iron core/coil set-up.

22. What caused the affect you described in #19?

Page 3
Student Data Sheets – Physics on the Guitar
23. Study the following illustrations of ‘domains’ in a
ferromagnetic core. The arrows represent the direction
of average electron spin in the region. Based on these
illustrations, answer the following questions.

 What does magnetism mean?

Domains in a Domains in a
ferromagnet ferromagnet
ic core in coil ic core in coil
with no with voltage
current applied in a
 What effect does putting current in the coil have on the
atomic level of the iron nail? current
carrying
closed
circuit

 Why did moving a magnet close to the core create a sound in the amplifier? (Barkhausen
effect)
Electromagnetic
pickup

24. (Research) A Humbucker electric guitar pickup is designed to

eliminate the hum (white noise) that may occur when a guitar
player is performing. This is preventing the Barkhausen effect!
What might be a source of magnetic interference on a
performing stage?

IIIc. The making of a magnet

25. Draw your observation when you sprinkled the iron filings on to the magnet in the following
position. Record the North and South pole orientation on the illustration.

Page 4
Student Data Sheets – Physics on the Guitar
26. Draw your observation when you sprinkled the iron filings on to the magnet in the following
position.

27. Describe the effect of touching the guitar string to the iron filings after holding it close to the
magnet. Did the guitar string get magnetized?

28. Draw the magnetic field of the guitar string, based on your observation of the iron filings.
Label N and S poles.

IV. Electric guitar pick-up

29. On the diagram of the pickup coil below, draw the magnetic field lines of the magnet inside
the coil.
N

30. What is the purpose of the magnet inside the pickup coil?

31. The magnet inside the pick-up coil is not moving--why does the coil still get a signal?

32. Why won’t nylon guitar strings work on an electric guitar?

33. See what you have learned. Study the illustration below of the magnetic pick-up with a
guitar string positioned above it. Use this illustration to describe how a vibrating guitar
string creates current in the pick-up coil, which can be turned into sound at a speaker. As
part of your explanation, do the following:

 Indicate the location of the N-S poles in the string

 Draw the magnetic field lines for both the string and the pick-up
 In your explanation, use the following terms: magnetic field, magnetize, current, and
Faraday’s Law.

Vibration
Guitar string

Page 5
Student Data Sheets – Physics on the Guitar
 N

Extension Activity (The Speaker)

V. Talking back to the speaker

34. Complete the following sentence: Sending current through a wire that is placed in a
magnetic field creates a ________________ on the wire.

35. Circle the coil, the magnet, and all magnetized materials
(including plates and pole piece) in the illustration to
the right.

Page 6
Student Data Sheets – Physics on the Guitar
When you talk into the speaker and vibrate the cone, what happens to the voice coil?

36. Study the picture to the right showing the cross-sectional

view of a speaker magnet. This magnet is often
described as being similar to setting two (2) horseshoe
magnets next to each other. Draw two horseshoe
magnets on the illustration to show what they mean.

37. What will happen to the ‘force on the coil’ arrow if the
current is reversed from the direction shown in the
illustration?

38. When you tap on the speaker it moves the coil back and forth over the central magnetic
core. What is the result of this action? (Be specific!)

VI. Simply Speaking

40. What affect did flipping the disk magnet have on the induced magnetism in the nail?

41. Were you able to hear the radio station from the simple speaker? What was vibrating to
produce the sound?

42. The magnet on the head of the iron nail magnetized the nail. What caused the magnetized
nail to move when it was plugged into the radio?

43. The earphone jack of the radio produces a changing (alternating) electrical current that
encodes the signal from the radio station. What was the purpose of plugging the coil
into the earphone jack?

44. In your own words, describe how the simple speaker works.

Page 7
Student Data Sheets – Physics on the Guitar