The "Magic" of Magnets

Have you ever played with magnets? If you spill a bunch of screws, a fast way to clean them up is to hold a magnet over them, attracting them toward the magnet. If you hold a magnet over another magnet, they either attract each other or repel each other. You may have heard that opposites attract. Magnets have things called poles. There is a north pole and a south pole, kind of like the locations on Earth. Earth is a giant magnet. This is why compasses work. No one has ever observed a north pole without a south pole nearby. North poles attract South poles and South poles attract North poles. However, two north poles repel each other. Also, two south poles repel each other.

Magnets have poles (North, N, and South, S). A north pole attracts a south pole and a south pole attracts a north pole. However, two north poles repel each other. Two south poles repel each other.

Superconductors are a special type of material that, at certain (low) temperatures conduct electricity really well and expel all magnetic and electric fields. Here is a pretty cool video from the Royal Institution of Great Britain describing superconducting magnets.

One fun activity is to take a magnet to the beach. In many areas (at least around the Great Lakes), if you wave a magnet over the sand at a beach, you will likely find that small gray flecks stick to the magnet. Most of that is likely ferrite, Fe2O3, a magnetic material. You can also find magnets in most amplifiers, including telephones. Be sure to ask your parents permission before taking anything apart!