Energy of a Magnetic Field and Solar Flares

This activity helps students consider the energy stored in the magnetic field produced by different configurations of magnets and apply their findings to explain the release of energy from solar flares. The sequence of activities leads students to construct an understanding of how energy is stored in fields through direct observation of magnetic field strengths and configurations for different orientations of the magnets. Students transfer knowledge to solar flares and to understand a 2020 scientific result regarding flare energy. This activity is appropriate for high school and university introductory physics and astronomy courses. It is especially appropriate for any high school science course that addresses the energy in fields concept that is found in the Next Generation Science Standards.

This activity is just one of the many resources for educators and students included in the Energy of a Magnetic Field Digi Kit. A Digi Kit is a web-based interactive lab that blends physics, geometry, and astronomy as students build and use physical models to explore phenomena. Digi Kit resources include a core lesson plan, videos, simulations, tutorials, and readings.

This DigiKit for high school physics introduces the concept of energy in magnetic fields through use of a phone app, computer games, and a comprehensive set of NASA video and image sets. In the anchoring lesson plan, students use the magnetometer in the MagnaAR app to map field vectors of the magnetic field surrounding common magnets. Based on direct observation, they will construct explanations of how energy is stored in magnetic fields and represent their understanding of this energy flow through pie charts and diagrams. This leads to the culminating activity, in which students study energy in a solar flare and apply that knowledge to authentic, cutting edge 2020 data of magnetic reconnection -- one of the key drivers of space radiation. This data from the NASA MMS Mission shows the first time when Earth satellites were able to capture magnetic reconnection that occurred when Earth's magnetic field collided against the Sun's. Watch the pre-lecture video to learn more about implementing the activity. Access this Digi Kit at: https://www.compadre.org/books/?ID=71