Electromagnets and Worms: Construction

I have been working on constructing a simple electromagnetic apparatus to test the effect of a magnetic field on the bioluminescent mucus of the tube worm Chaetopterus variopedatus. Since the mucus is Ferrous and a reaction involving Fe⁺² and H₂O₂ (peroxide) is necessary for the organism to luminesce, there is a possibility that magnetism might increase the luminosity (brightness) of the mucus by somehow stimulating the ferrous reaction within the mucus. Previously, I used rare earth magnets to stimulate the mucus (see this blog for the previous test procedures), but after erratic results and no significant data, I decided to construct an electromagnet so that the magnetic field would be uniform throughout the sample and regulatable. 

Below are some photos that show the construction process:

I took a conical plastic test tube that wasn't too wide or thin, but just right to wrap wire around and fit Eppendorf tubes in.

I cut the test tube at the top, but only cut part off the cone bottom so that the diameter was small enough to allow me to rest the lip of a 1.5 ml tube on the rim.

I placed a spool of 30 gauge wrapping wire around a screwdriver suspended by a column chromatography clamp so that I could easily spin the wire into my own electromagnetic coil (bottom left with the blue cap).

This is what the coil looked like halfway through. It was already thick, but the more coils in an electromagnetic there are, the stronger the magnetic field will be.

I had designed the holding tube around which the wire was coiled so that a 1.5 ml tube could rest inside the lip. 

Here, the electromagnet is finished and thick with coils; a luminometer testing tube rests inside.

The electromagnet is connected to the positive and ground connections on a Laboratory DC Power Supply. The current and voltage are turned up to full power and 17.36 Volts are being sent through to the electromagnet. The DC power is constant and the electromagnet has a uniform field inside of the tube, creating dependable constants for the experiment.