Have you ever wanted to feel like Magneto? Well, now you can sort of! Put the ferromagnetic objects of the world under your control with an electromagnet.

The easiest way to make an electromagnet is to get a solenoid, run current through it, and then get a soft piece of iron inside the solenoid. When the power's off, the electromagnet's gone!

This means that you only have to power this electromagnet with about 5VDC (you don't need to be exact, 4-6V will work very well) and it is now a magnet. Cut the power and it becomes a normal piece of metal again. As this is a coil, you will need to use a solenoid driver with return protection.

Attention: electromagnets are specified with a "holding force", say 2.5Kg / 5.5lb. That's not the weight they can pick up! Divide the holding force by 5-10 to get a rough estimate of the weight of something it can pick up. Note that the weight of the pickup also depends on a flat surface and maximum surface contact, as well as the ferromagnetic metal content. A perfectly flat steel cube will work very well, something weird shaped or covered with rubber or plastic will not work!

    Rated voltage : 5V DC
    Current consumption: 0.22 A at 5V
    Holding Force: 2.5 Kg / 5.5 lb
    Diameter: 40mm / ~0.8".
    Center diameter: ~18mm / ~0.3".
    Height: 20mm / ~0.6".
    Wire length: 270mm / ~10".