Combining Physics and Mathematics Learning: A Taylor Series Analysis of an Oscillating Magnetic Field

Abstract: In this work, we present a simple and low-cost experiment designed to study the oscillations of the magnetic field created by a cylindrical magnet under two different conditions: far and short distances from the magnetic sensor. A Taylor series expansion of the magnetic field function has been done to study the convergence of the polynomial series to the real field in both situations. To carry out the experiment, a small cylindrical magnet has been attached to an oscillating and well-known spring-mass system. The resulting oscillating magnetic field has been registered with the smartphone by using the magnetometer sensor. A very good agreement has been obtained between the theoretical model for the magnetic field and the experimental data collected with the sensor located near and far from a cylindrical magnet and along its longitudinal axis.