Galvanometers are coils of wire connected to a battery. When current flows through the wire, it creates a magnetic field. Since the wire is bundled up, it multiplies this electromagnetic effect to create a simple electromagnet that you can detect with your compass.
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Jewelry wire won’t work for this project. You’ll need to use magnet wire because it has a thin epoxy coating that projects from short circuits. It isn’t practical to coat regular wire with nail polish, because you could have spots where the wire remains bare.
I have jewelry wire (0.4 mm) that is labeled ‘special copper wire for jewelry’. Can I use it instead of magnetic wire? I have five colors, silver, gold, copper color, black, and reddish. For the black and red wires, it looks like a black or red coating over some silver wire, but it is really thin and I’m not sure if it is actually silver, or the orangey copper color. I’m not sure if it is real copper. Is there a way to test it for copper? Would copper work? Would I need to coat it in clear nail polish first?
Not really, since you’re using such a small bit of wire. If you had miles of it, then yes.
If you have more wire do you need more power.