THE MAGNET AND ITS COMPONENTS

destroyer33 (49)in #steemiteducation • 6 years ago

A magnet attracts certain metallic objects, which adhere to it until someone pulls them out. The objects and the magnet are united by an attraction or force. When we bring one magnet closer to the other, two things can happen: attract or reject each other. Around a magnet there are invisible lines of magnetic force, which are known as magnetic fields. An iron object that approaches this field will be attracted by the magnet. The magnetic field can be seen using iron filings, which will be concentrated where the magnetic force is most powerful.

The needle of a compass always points in the same direction. This is because the Earth acts as if it had a giant magnet in the center. The needle of the compass is a small magnet that is oriented according to the Earth's magnetic field and points to the north. Nowadays it is said that the compass refers to a magnetized needle that is placed on a pivot located in the center of a cylindrical box. At the bottom of the box you can see the compass rose, (it marks the four cardinal points and other 28 compound directions, we can also graduate in degrees of circumference). The needle indicates the direction of the Earth's magnetic field.

The two ends of a magnet are north and south poles. If we place two north poles together, the magnets move away. If we approach a north pole and a south pole, the magnets attract. Consequently, opposite poles attract each other and similar poles repel each other. The stronger the poles, the stronger the attraction or repulsion between them will be. Also, the closer they are the greater is that strength. In fact, the magnitude of the magnetic force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the poles (a relation of the inverse of the squares similar to the Coulomb's law in electrostatics)