Magnets and Magnetism

A magnet is an object that produces an invisible force around it called a magnetic field. This force can attract (pull towards) or repel (push away) certain other objects without even touching them. You can feel this push and pull if you bring two magnets close together.

A common misconception is that a magnet will stick to anything metal. In fact, it only sticks to materials containing iron, nickel or cobalt. That is why a fridge magnet sticks to a steel fridge door but slides right off an aluminium drinks can.

Every magnet has two ends called poles: a north pole and a south pole. These poles are where the magnetic force is strongest. No matter how many times you cut a magnet in half, each new piece will always have its own north and south pole.

There is a golden rule for poles: opposite poles attract, and like poles repel. So a north pole and a south pole pull together, but two north poles (or two south poles) push apart. This is sometimes remembered as 'unlike poles attract, like poles repel'.

A compass works because its needle is a tiny, lightweight magnet that is free to spin. It lines up with the Earth's magnetic field, so one end always points north. Sailors, hikers and pilots have relied on this simple, clever tool for hundreds of years.

Magnets are used everywhere in real life — in fridge door seals, in the electric motors that spin in toys and washing machines, in loudspeakers and headphones, in computer hard drives, and in giant hospital machines called MRI scanners that take detailed pictures of the inside of the body.