Magnetism

Posted by Keshav Jain on


 



 



Why do some metals stick to magnets?



An ordinary magnet has two poles, which are usually referred to as the North Pole and South Pole. Similar (like) poles repel each other, while unlike poles attract each other. You can easily see this happening if you hold two magnets close together. The north pole of one magnet will stick firmly to the south pole of the other magnet, while any two similar poles will be forced apart.



Picture credit: google



 





Which substances are magnetic?



Iron, steel and nickel are magnetic substances, that is, they can be attracted by another magnet. Once these materials are in a magnetic field, they act as magnets themselves because the electrons in their atoms become aligned along the magnetic lines of force. This means that you can pick up a whole string of paperclips attached to a single magnet. Once the first paperclip is separated from the magnet, the whole string will collapse because the paperclips are only temporarily magnetized.



Picture credit: google



 



 

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