MAGNETISM

 Magnetism was first discovered by Greeks as early as 600 BC.

 Certain type of iron ore called magnetite or lodestone has property to attract small pieces of iron.
 Chemically the magnetic material has formula Fe3O4.
 The word magnetism is derived from Magnesia, the place where magnetic iron ore was first
discovered.
Magnetic (Ferro) and Non-Magnetic Material

 Magnetic material: magnetic – anything which contains iron, nickel, or cobalt can be magnetised
 Non-magnetic material: non-magnetic e.g. copper, grass, ketchup, butter, wood, ass-gravy (poop) etc
Properties of Magnetism
1. The materials that can easily be attracted by magnet are called ferrous materials or ferromagnetic such as
iron, steel, nickel, cobalt.
2. The materials that are not attracted by magnet are called
non- ferrous materials such as copper, brass, wood and glass.
3. Poles of a magnet are at the ends to which magnetic material are attracted. These ends are of equal
strengths. They are called north and south poles.
4. When a magnet is hanged freely, its poles are always facing towards the earth’s north and south poles.

5. Law of magnetic poles: Like poles of magnets repel and unlike poles attract each other.

Neutral Point

Neutral point:
 When two magnet of same magnetic strength are place next to each other facing the like poles, they create a
point where one magnetic field cancels the other. This point is called neutral point of null point
Induced Magnetism:
 When a piece of un-magnetized steel (for example nail) is placed either near to or in contact with the
pole of a magnet and then removed, it is found to be magnetized.
 Magnets attract materials by inducing magnetism in them, in other words the material becomes a
magnet as well.
 The side of the material facing the magnet will become the opposite pole as the magnet.

Theory of a Magnet
 A completely satisfactory theory of magnetism has still not been formulated.
 At present it is assumed that magnetism is due to the movement of the electrons. The electrons circulate around
the nucleus of the atom.
 They also spin around an axis through their centres. These two movements set up magnetic field about the
electrons. As a result, the atoms act as magnets.
 Now ferromagnetic metals like iron, cobalt etc. have crystal structure and appear to have minute regions
showing strong resultant magnetism. These regions are called 'domains'. In each domain the atomic magnets are
in alignment as shown in figure.
 It will be noticed that different domains have magnetic axes in random directions. As a result, the metal as a
whole does not show any magnetic property as shown below.

 When the iron bar is magnetized, the atomic magnets turn to bring the domain magnetic axes in direction of
magnetizing field. When the process of magnetization is complete, the magnetic axes of all the domains is
brought into the best possible alignment and the metal is said to be magnetically saturated

Methods of Magnetization:
Single stroke method:
 Place the soft iron piece AB flat on a table and stroke it with a bar magnet from A to B with one end of
a bar magnet as shown in figure.
 When the magnet reaches B it is lifted, and brought back to A to repeat the stroke.
  After a few strokes you will notice that A will become a magnet with the same polarity as the pole
being rubbed with it.

Double stroke method:

 Take an iron sheet and place it on the table. Take two bar magnets and place them at the iron piece
with their unlike poles pointing at each other.
 Rub the iron piece with them several times without changing the poles and direction as shown below.
 It was found that using two bar magnets we could magnetize a steel bar quicker and more uniformly.

By passing electrical current through the coil:

 The best method of making a powerful magnet is by passing electric current.
 Wrap a length of insulated copper wire around an iron or steel rod and connect the ends of the coil of
wire to a battery.
 After the current has passed through the coil for some time you will notice that the rod gets
magnetized.
 The polarity of the rod depends upon the direction of the current. The type of magnetism that can be
controlled by electricity is called electromagnet.
An electromagnet is a coil

Methods of Demagnetization:
(a) Electrical method
1. By placing the magnet inside the solenoid (a copper coil) through which the alternating current is flowing and by
drawing the magnet away from solenoid in W-E direction.
2. By heating the magnet to the redness and then allow it to cool while it is lying in and W-E direction.
3. By dropping and hammering while the magnet is lying in W-E position
(b) Heating or hammering

Magnetic field
 Magnetic field is the region in space where a magnetic force is exerted.
 It has direction which is at any point should be the direction of the force from north pole to south that
is the arrows are always coming out from north pole to south pole.

Properties of Magnetic Field Lines

1. They leave north and enter south pole normally.\

2. The magnetic field lines are crowded near the pole.

3. It is a vector quantity
4. They always form closed loops.
5. They do not intersect one another

Experiment to identify the pattern of the magnetic field lines around a bar m
Magnet
Using the iron fillings:
1. Put a piece of plane paper over the magnet and sprinkle some iron fillings on the paper directly above
and slightly to the sides of the magnet.
2. Without moving the paper or the magnet, gently tap the paper.
3. The pattern of iron filling on the paper shows the lines of magnetic field of the magnet.
Plotting the magnetic lines with a compass:
1. Place a bar magnet on the paper, draw around the magnet and mark the position of the poles.
2. Place a plotting compass next to the North Pole of the magnet and around it mark the direction in
which the needle is pointing.
3. Now place the plotting compass so that its south pole is in continuation of the arrows you have just
drawn.
4. Draw around the compass and mark the direction in which the needle in pointing.
5. Performing this procedure 40-50 time and you will be able to see the shape of magnetic field.

Properties and uses of Iron and Steel

Properties Uses
IRON  It is a soft magnetic material  To make temporary magnets
 It loses its magnetism easily (it is not retentive).  To make electromagnets.
 It easy to magnetize (it has a high susceptibility).  It is used in transformers,
audio and videos takes.
Properties Uses
STEEL  It is a hard magnetic material  To make permanent magnet.
 It is highly retentive  It is used in AC and DC
 It has a low susceptibility motors

Magnetic screening and Magnetic Keepers

Magnetic Keepers

 If a magnet is left for a long time, it loses its magnetism due to earth’s magnetic fields.
 The earth’s magnetic field exerts a torque on individual magnetic dipoles which alter their orientations.
So, magnetic keepers are used to store magnets.
 Bar magnets are arranged in pairs, with opposite poles facing each other.
Magnetic screening
 A box or case of soft iron, as thick as practicable, for protecting bodies within it from the action of
magnetic field.
 Magnetic screening is used in hospitals where devices that’s use magnetism need to be shielded in that
they do not need to interfere with other (non-magnetic).
 Magnetic screening is also used in electric cables to reduce signal loss

Uses of a magnet
1. They are used in computers and electronics.
2. They are used in the electric bells.
3. They are used in speakers which can convert the electrical energy into sound energy.
4. They are also used to sort out the magnetic and non-magnetic.
5. They are used in cranes.
6. They are used in refrigerators to keep the door closed
Plotting graphs
When drawing graphs, you should:
 Remember to label the axes with both quantity (e.g. distance or d) and unit (e.g. metres or m). Then
write it as distance/metres or even just d/m.
 Make sure the axes are the correct way round. You are usually told, for example, to plot distance on
the x-axis, so make sure you know that x is the horizontal axis!
 Make the scales go up in sensible amounts, i.e. 0, 5, 10… or 0, 2, 4… but not 0, 3, 6… or 0, 7, 14…
 Make sure that the plotted points fill at least half the graph paper. This means if you can double the
scale and still plot all the points then you should double the scale.
 Check if you have been told to start the scales from the origin. If not, then think carefully about where
to start the axes.
 When you are told to start the axes from a certain point (e.g. x = 1, y = 20) you must do so. You will
lose a mark if you use a different point (e.g. the origin).
 Use a sharp pencil to plot the points and draw the line.
 Plot the points carefully. It is best to use small neat crosses. Every point will be checked by the
examiner, and you will lose the mark if any are wrongly plotted.
 Draw either a straight line or a smooth curve. In physics we never join the dots!
 Your line may not go through all the points – especially in the practical papers.
 Remember that a best fit line (curve or straight) should have some points above and some points below
the line.