Take two magnets put one North pole and one South pole on the middle of the iron. Draw them towards its ends, repeating the process several times. Take a steel bar, hold it vertically, and strike the end several times with a hammer, and it will become a permanent magnet.

The lodestone is an extremely rare form of the mineral magnetite (Fe3O4) that occurs naturally as a permanent magnet.

The Use of Steel in Permanent Magnets In its natural state, steel isn’t magnetic, but it can be modified in a way that turns it magnetic. Steel isn’t the only material used to make permanent magnets. Permanent magnets are also made of ceramic, iron, cobalt, nickel, gadolinium and neodymium.

Steel as a permanent magnet It can only be magnetized by a strong magnetic field. But, steel has the ability to retain its magnetism once it is magnetized. This trait allows steel to be suitable to be used in permanent magnets.

Permanent magnets are made from special alloys (ferromagnetic materials) such as iron, nickel and cobalt, several alloys of rare-earth metals and minerals such as lodestone.

The magnetic force (or magnetism) can pass through thin sheets of non-magnetic objects such as paper, glass or wood. However, if the magnet is too weak and the material is too thick, the magnetic force may not be able to pass through.

Values for some common materials

Ferromagnetic metals are strongly attracted by a magnetic force. The common ferromagnetic metals include iron, nickel, cobalt, gadolinium, dysprosium and alloys such as steel that also contain specific ferromagnetic metals such as iron or nickel. Ferromagnetic metals are commonly used to make permanent magnets.

In Experiment 1, when you bring the compass near a strong bar magnet, the needle of the compass points in the direction of the south pole of the bar magnet. When you take the compass away from the bar magnet, it again points north.

When another magnet is brought near a compass, then this magnet will attract or repel the magnetic needle of compass due to which the compass needle will be disturbed from its usual north-south direction. The compass needle will point in another direction.

The needle of a compass is itself a permanent magnet and the north indicator of the compass is a magnetic north pole. The north pole of a magnet will tend to line up with the magnetic field, so a suspended compas needle will rotate until it lines up with the magnetic field.

Each time the paperclips are placed on the permanent magnet, the paperclips are being magnetized because their unpaired electrons are being organized. As long as they remain organized, the paperclips will act like magnets.

The needle of a plotting compass points to the south pole of the magnet. The behaviour of a compass shows that the Earth has a magnetic field. The Earth’s core, which is made from iron and nickel, produces this magnetic field.

A compass points north because all magnets have two poles , a north pole and a south pole, and the north pole of one magnet is attracted to the south pole of another magnet. (You may have seen this demonstrated by a pair of simple bar magnets or refrigerator magnets pushed end to end.)

Your compass can also be temporarily thrown off course by using it too close to some metal objects (such as cars made of steel with an iron engine block) or electromagnetic fields generated by electricity cables. Bubbles! sealed capsule of fluid (often white spirit, paraffin or another mineral oil).

We use these names because if you hang a magnet from a thread, the magnet’s north pole points (almost) towards the north direction. This is because the Earth’s core (its centre) is a large, weak magnet. Your little, strong magnet lines up with Earth’s magnetic core, so it points north.

– What do you notice about the needle colour as you drag it around the magnet? The color red is pointing away from the South while the color white is pointing away from the North. – Take screen shot at the South and North pole to prove your point and place below.

The magnet’s North and South poles are labeled. The other item represents a compass; the red end of the needle is the end that would point towards Earth’s North Magnetic Pole. Notice that the red end of the compass needle points toward the south pole of the magnet.

A compass needle points north because the north pole of the magnet inside it is attracted to the south pole of Earth’s built-in magnet. Since unlike poles attract, the thing your compass is being attracted to must be a magnetic south pole.

4. Does the field increase or decrease as you move the meter closer to the magnet? increasesMove your meter so that it is about one inch (on your computer screen) away from the North end of your magnet.

The magnetic field generated by any magnet is always strongest at either pole. The magnetic force is equally as strong at both the north and south pole.

The magnetic field of a bar magnet is strongest at either pole of the magnet. It is equally strong at the north pole when compared with the south pole. The force is weaker in the middle of the magnet and halfway between the pole and the center.

Magnetic force obeys an inverse square law with distance. If the distance between two magnets is doubled the magnetic force between them will fall to a quarter of the initial value. (F/4) If the distance between two magnets is halved the magnetic force between them will increase to four times the initial value.

The magnetic field from a wire decreases with distance from the wire. Instead of the field being proportional to the inverse square of the distance, as is the electric field from a point charge, the magnetic field is inversely proportional to the distance from the wire.

The magnetic field of our planet — otherwise known as the magnetosphere — extends out to about 65,000 kilometers (40,000 mi) above the surface of the planet.

Magnetic Fields Varying as an Inverse Cube For both monopoles and dipoles, the field strength decreases as the distance from the source increases. , often called the inverse square law. For electric dipoles, the field strength decreases more rapidly with distance; as R -3 .