Attraction and repulsion
A magnet's most notable and well known property is its ability to attract and repel both ferromagnetic materials and other magnets.
Attract: To be pulled together by magnetic forces.
Repel: To be pushed away by magnetic forces.
It is very fun to play with magnets to see whether they will attract or repel each other. One way to do this is to try and figure out which ends tend to meet when two magnets are held close together. The pole of a magnet is the place where the magnetic force is the strongest. A bar magnet has a pole at each end, one a north-seeking pole and the other a south-seeking pole. Often times magnets will have these north and south poles marked, making it very easy to distinguish which ends will attract and which ends will repel each other.
Attract: To be pulled together by magnetic forces.
Repel: To be pushed away by magnetic forces.
It is very fun to play with magnets to see whether they will attract or repel each other. One way to do this is to try and figure out which ends tend to meet when two magnets are held close together. The pole of a magnet is the place where the magnetic force is the strongest. A bar magnet has a pole at each end, one a north-seeking pole and the other a south-seeking pole. Often times magnets will have these north and south poles marked, making it very easy to distinguish which ends will attract and which ends will repel each other.
By playing with magnets, you will soon discover that unlike poles attract each other while identical poles repel each other. By putting two magnets with both north poles facing each other, you will feel the force of repulsion pushing the two magnets apart. On the other hand, if you place the south pole of one magnet beside the north pole of another magnet, you will feel the force of attraction pulling them together.
No matter how small a magnet is, it will always have north and south poles. If you cut a magnet in half, two new magnets, both with north and south poles, will be formed.
No matter how small a magnet is, it will always have north and south poles. If you cut a magnet in half, two new magnets, both with north and south poles, will be formed.
The Earth has two poles very much like a magnet's poles. It has both a north and south pole. A compass is able to function because of this attribute of the Earth. Because a compass needle is a magnet, one end points to the Earth's magnetic north pole while the other points to the Earth's magnetic south pole. A compass is useful because it can help travelers determine direction.
The main things you need to know about attraction and repulsion are:
1) Opposite poles will attract each other and will stick together.
1) Opposite poles will attract each other and will stick together.
AND:
2) Alike poles will repel each other and will be forced apart.
2) Alike poles will repel each other and will be forced apart.
If you do not understand a word used on page, be sure to visit the Magnetism Vocabulary tab under Overview to review!