Physics 0625 Magnetism

Magnets, forces and fields

Magnets and magnetic materials

Magnets can exert a force on another magnet or on magnetic materials. While magnetic

materials are not magnets, they are attracted to magnets. There will always be a force of

attraction between a

permanent magnet

and a magnetic material, whereas two magnets may either attract or repel depending on the

poles.

You need to remember the names of these magnetic materials:

• iron

• nickel

• cobalt

Steel is also a magnetic material because it is mostly made from iron.

Many materials are non-magnetic, meaning that they do not experience a force when in a

magnetic field. Plastic is an example of a non-magnetic material.

Magnetic poles

Every magnet has a north and a south pole, positioned at opposite ends. If you cut a magnet in
half, you get two smaller magnets, each with a north and a south pole (Figure 1).

The phrase 'opposites attract' is true for magnets (Figure 2).

Magnetic fields
Every magnet is surrounded by a magnetic field. You can't see it but we know it is
there because of the force it exerts on other magnets or magnetic materials. A
magnetic field is a region of space where another magnet or magnetic material
experiences a force.

Magnetic fields are drawn as lines with arrows that always point from north to
south. Figure 3 shows the field pattern for several different arrangements of magnets
and poles.
The magnetic field always shows the direction in which a compass will point (i.e. the direction of

force on the north pole of a magnet). The following practical activity describes a way of using a

compass to draw the pattern of field lines around bar magnets.

Practical

Aim

To draw the field lines for any arrangement of magnets.

Summary of method

1. Place a sheet of blank paper on a flat surface away from any electronic devices. Place a

single bar magnet in the centre of the paper. Draw around it and label the north and

south poles.

2. Take a compass and place it at the north pole of the magnet. Mark where the north

needle of the compass points and draw a small arrow in that direction.

3. Slide your compass about 1 cm in the direction that the north arrow is pointing, and

repeat Step 2. Keep advancing your compass by 1 cm in the direction of the N-point and

draw an arrow each time.

4. Match up your arrows in a single loop to show a field line.

5. Repeat steps 2–4 for different starting positions to see more field lines. Make sure your

field lines do not cross.

6. Now see how more than one magnetic field interacts. Start with a new piece of paper and

place two magnets on the page. Repeat steps 1–5 to see how the field pattern changes in

the presence of a second magnet. You can then turn one of the magnets round and

repeat the practical.

Results

You should have a set of drawings that look like Figure 3.

Extended

Magnets interact with each other when their magnetic fields are in the same space. The

direction of each magnetic field will determine whether they attract or repel. When fields travel

in the same direction, they attract; when field lines point in the opposite direction, they repel.

Although you can't see a magnetic field, you can use a magnetic material such as iron and some

iron filings to see where the field exists. Sprinkle iron filings around the magnet (iron) to 'see' the

field.

Q: Which of these groups includes only magnetic materials?

#1

Steel, brass, copper

#2

Iron, copper, magnesium

#3

Copper, nickel, aluminium

#4

Nickel, cobalt, iron

Making magnets

Induced magnetism

Magnetic materials can attract each other, but only when a permanent magnet is present. A
permanent magnet always has a magnetic field. When a permanent magnet attracts a magnetic
material, it induces a magnetic field in the material. Without the magnet, the field disappears.

Look at Figure 1 and Figure 2 to find out what happens when nickel coins are placed in the field
of a horseshoe show magnet.

• When the magnetic material (the nickel coin) is placed in the magnetic field of the
permanent magnet, magnetism is induced in the coin and it becomes attached to the
permanent magnet.
 • The nickel coin is attracted to either the north or the south pole of the permanent
magnet.

• When a coin is attracted to the south pole, a north pole is induced at the top of the coin
and a south pole at the bottom. The opposite is true when a coin is attracted to the north
pole.

• When a third nickel coin is placed in the magnetic field (Figure 2), a north pole is induced
at the top of this coin and a south pole at the bottom.

If the horseshoe magnet in Figure 1 and Figure 2 was removed, its field would no longer be

present and the nickel coins would lose their magnetism.

Making magnets
Induced magnetic poles disappear unless the material is made into a magnet. Turning
a magnetic material into a magnet depends on whether the material is hard or soft.
Each have different applications:

• A hard magnetic material

, such as steel, is hard to magnetise but also hard to demagnetise. Steel is used
to make magnets used in devices that require a constant magnetic field.

• A soft magnetic material

, such as iron, is easy to magnetise but also easy to demagnetise. Iron is used in
electronic door locks and gains and loses its magnetism quickly.

There are three ways to make a magnetic material into a magnet.

1. Stroke the material with a strong magnet in a circular motion (Figure 3).
2. Put the magnetic material inside a coil of wire carrying a direct current (Figure

4).

A current-carrying wire generates a magnetic field. If the iron nail is in the presence

of the field for long enough, it will become a magnet.

3. Place the material to be magnetised in a strong magnetic field and hammer the

material. The hammering agitates the atoms within the material and causes them to

align with the external magnetic field, thus changing the magnetic material into a

magnet with its own field.

Electromagnets
Figure 4 is also known as an electromagnet. Any time a coil of wire carries current, a

magnetic field is induced. You need to know some of the differences between permanent

magnets and electromagnets and their uses, these are shown in Table 1.

Extended

Demagnetising:
Imagine that a magnet is made up from millions of smaller magnets, all facing in the

same direction.

To demagnetise this magnet, you need to disturb the orientation of the smaller

magnets within the material so that they are arranged in different directions.
There are three ways to demagnetise a magnetic material.

1. Heat it – the kinetic energy given to the molecules during heating will change

the alignment.

2. Hit it – simply hammering a magnet shakes all the molecules and disrupts their

magnetic alignment.

3. Use a coil with an alternating current. The constantly changing magnetic field

eliminates any magnetism.