MAGNETISM

PHYSICS

Properties of Magnets

➔ Magnets attract objects made of iron, steel, nickel and cobalt (or their alloys) –
ferromagnetic materials
- Become induced magnets when placed in a magnetic field
- Can be magnetised and made into permanent magnets
- Iron is a soft magnetic material as it is easy to magnetise and demagnetise
- Steel is a hard magnetic material as it is difficult to magnetise and
demagnetise
➔ Magnetic poles always occur in pairs of a north pole and a south pole
- Not possible for a single pole to exist on its own
- Force of attraction of a magnet is greater
at its poles than in the middle
➔ Unlike poles of two magnets attract each other
while like poles of two magnets repel each other
➔ Bar magnet suspended by thread and free to
rotate → north pole will move towards the
(magnetic) North Pole of the Earth and vice versa
as the Earth has its own magnetic field(where
Geographical North Poles behaves like the
South Pole of a magnet and vice versa)

1
The Earth’s Magnetic Field

➔ The Earth behaves as if it has a very large imaginary bar magnet within it
- south pole (also known as the south-seeking pole) at what is called the
magnetic North Pole – near to but not exactly at the the geographic North
Pole – magnetic declination is the angle between magnetic North and
geographic North
- north pole (also known as the north-seeking pole) of the Earth’s magnetic
field is located at the magnetic South Pole – near but not exactly at the
geographic South Pole

2
Test for Magnetism

➔ Repulsion is the only conclusive test for magnetism

➔ Attraction can occur between a magnet and a magnetic material that has not been
magnetised
➔ Both ends of the specimen must be tested by being brought close to the N pole of a
known magnet
➔ When one end is attracted to the N pole and the other end is repelled by the N pole,
it can be concluded that the specimen is a magnet

Magnetic Induction

➔ Can be carried out in two ways

- Bar magnetic brought close to soft iron rod → iron rod becomes an induced
magnet → end of the iron bar near the north pole of the bar magnet
becomes a south pole, opposite to the polarity of the side of the bar magnet
closer to the iron bar → soft iron rod attracted to the bar even though it was
not magnetised
- One end of the first iron nail becomes a south pole while the other end of the
first iron nail would thus be a north pole → second iron nail would in turn
also become an induced magnet due to its proximity to the first iron nail
➔ Process where an object made of a magnetic material becomes a magnet when it is
near or in contact with a magnet

3
*Magnetic material does not have to be in physical contact with the magnet and only needs
to be near the magnet

*The (magnetic object) becomes magnetised by induced magnetism

*Answering Technique

1) (Magnetic object) is made of a magnetic material that becomes magnetised by

induced magnetism
2) The north/south pole of the magnet induces a south/north pole to the (side
closest to the magnet) opposite to the polarity of the magnet and induces a
north/south pole to the (side furthest away from the magnet)
3) Unlike poles attract so (magnetic object) is attracted to the north/south pole of the
magnet
4) As the force of attraction between unlike poles is larger than the force of repulsion
between like poles, as the unlike poles are closer to each other, there is a net
attractive force between the magnet and (magnetic object)

Methods of Magnetisation

Magnetisation by Stroking

➔ Works for hard magnetic materials only (i.e

steel)

4
 ➔ Using one or two permanent magnets, a steel bar is stroked several times in the
same direction across its length
➔ The end of the steel bar where the stroke finishes always has the opposite polarity
to that end of the stroking magnet in contact
➔ Figure (a) below shows the single touch (one magnet) method
- Magnet needs to be lifted sufficiently high to prevent the magnetism
induced from being cancelled when the magnet moves along the steel bar to
the other end
◆ Figure (b) below shows the double touch or divided touch (two magnets)
method
- Unlike poles of two magnets are used to stroke the magnetic material
simultaneously from the middle
- A magnet formed using the divided touch method produces a stronger
magnet

Magnetisation Using the Electrical Method

➔ A solenoid is made up of several hundred turns of (insulated) copper wire

➔ Magnetic field = A region in which the force of magnetism acts

5
 ➔ When a magnetic material such as steel is placed within the solenoid, the magnetic
material becomes a magnet
➔ Procedure:
1) Connect a solenoid to a direct current (d.c.) supply
2) Place the steel bar inside the solenoid
3) Switch on the d.c. supply
4) When current flows through the solenoid, a strong magnetic field is
produced
5) The magnetic field lines pass through the steel bar, causing the magnetic
domains to be aligned in the same direction as the magnetic field set up by
the solenoid → results in a magnetised steel bar

➔ The current flows through the coils of the solenoid and NOT through the steel bar
➔ The electrical method is the most effective method of magnetisation
- much quicker than magnetisation by stroking

6
 - produces strong magnets
➔ Determining polarity of magnet – right-hand grip rule
- Grip the solenoid using your right hand – making sure to curl your fingers in
the direction of the (conventional) current flow – positive to negative terminal
- Thumb points in the direction of the north pole of the magnet

Methods of Demagnetisation

➔ Demagnetisation = Remove the magnetism from a magnet

➔ Cause the magnetic domains in the magnet to misalign, pointing in random
directions instead of one direction

Demagnetisation by Heating and Hammering

➔ Hammering
1) Magnet hammered vigorously while lying in the east-west direction
2) Magnetism becomes weaker or disappears
➔ Magnetism can also be destroyed if the magnet is heated to red-hot and allowed to
cool while lying in the east-west direction

Demagnetisation using the Electrical Method(FYI)

1) Connect a solenoid to its alternating current (a.c) supply

2) Place the magnet into the solenoid
3) While the a.c is flowing, slowly withdraw the magnet in
the east-west direction until it is far away from the solenoid
4) The magnet in the solenoid will be magnetised one way and then in the opposite
way repeatedly
5) As the magnet is withdrawn, its magnetism becomes weaker and weaker until the
magnet is completely demagnetised

7
Magnetic Fields

➔ As a magnetic field is invisible, the field of a magnet can be visualised as magnetic

lines of force (also known as magnetic field lines)
➔ A group of magnetic lines of force forms a magnetic field pattern
➔ The field pattern of a magnet can be revealed by
- sprinkling iron filings around it
- plotting with a compass

Plotting of Magnetic Field Lines

1) Place a bar magnet at the centre of a piece of blank paper

2) Ensure its N pole points to the Earth’s N pole
3) Place the S end of the compass needle at X and mark the point where the N end of
the compass needle is to be Y
4) Move the S end of the compass needle to Y and repeat
5) Repeat the process of marking the points until the S pole is reached
6) Join the dots with a single line
7) Repeat the process by starting from different points near the N pole until several
lines are drawn

Note

- Outside the magnet, magnetic field lines are directed from the N pole towards the S
pole
- The direction of the magnetic field line at a point shows the direction exerted on a N
pole placed at that point
- Within the magnet, magnetic field lines are directed from the S pole towards the N
pole – magnetic field lines form a closed loop
- Magnetic field lines do not cross or intersect one another as they are vectors and
any two vectors at a point must result in a resultant vector

8
 - Field lines are drawn closer to represent stronger fields and vice versa
- A compass needle will point in a direction tangent to the magnetic field line at that
point

Magnetic Field Patterns of a Bar Magnet

9
Magnetic Field Patterns between Magnets

➔ When two equally strong magnets are placed with opposite poles facing each other,
the magnetic field between poles becomes stronger
➔ If the poles are of the same polarity, magnetic effects are cancelled out
➔ A neutral point is a place where the resultant magnetic field strength is zero

10
*Magnetic field lines are not affected by magnetic material but magnetic field lines should
not be visible inside

*Soft iron core will concentrate the magnetic field lines so the gaps become smaller

Magnetic Shielding

➔ Magnetic Shielding/Screening = The use of magnetic materials to prevent any

surrounding magnetic fields from reaching and affecting the sensitive areas of a
piece of equipment
➔ Magnetic fields are sometimes not wanted as they can damage delicate equipment
(e.g watches, televisions, and computer discs)
➔ No known material can blocks magnetic fields without itself being attracted to the
magnetic force – magnetic fields can only be redirected, not created or removed
➔ High magnetic permeability shielding alloys (magnetic materials) are used to
redirect magnetic fields
➔ Material’s magnetic permeability = Ability to align itself with a magnetic field
➔ The magnetic field lines are strongly attracted into the shielding material and hence
can be redirected away from the sensitive equipment that needs to be shielded

Magnetic Keepers

11
 ➔ Magnets tend to become weaker after some time if not stored properly if they are
subjected to long periods of heat or influence of nearby magnetic fields due to the
free poles at the ends of the magnet repelling one another
➔ Soft iron keepers ensure that the magnetic domains remain aligned in the same
direction

Temporary & Permanent Magnets

➔ Temporary Magnets
- Magnets that retain their magnetism in the presence of an electric current or
a permanent magnetic field
- Made of soft magnetic materials, which are easy to magnetise and
demagnetise (e.g. iron)

12
*Temporary magnets are real magnets, and are different from induced magnets which will
lose their magnetism once the magnet inducing their magnetism is drawn away from them

➔ Permanent Magnets
- Do not require the presence of an electric current or a permanent magnet
field to retain their magnetism
- Made of hard magnetic materials, which are difficult to magnetise and
demagnetise (e.g. steel)

Note: “Hard” and “soft” do not refer to the physical hardness of the materials – refers to the
material’s ability to be magnetised and remain magnetised

➔ Soft magnetic materials (e.g. iron), being easily magnetised and demagnetised, are
more suitable to be used to make temporary magnets
➔ Hard magnetic materials (e.g. steel) are more suitable to be used to make
permanent magnets as they are difficult to magnetise and demagnetise

Answering Technique

- When demagnetises/magnetise, say that the object loses/retains magnetism

Electromagnets (Temporary Magnets)

➔ An electromagnet consists of a coil wounded on the core of soft magnetic material

(e.g. soft iron)
➔ Core
- magnetised when the circuit is closed and current flows through the coil
- loses magnetism when the circuit is open
➔ The strength of the electromagnet is increased by:

13
 - using cells of larger electromotive force(e.m.f) (hence passing a larger current
through the coil, by I = V/R)
- increasing the number of turns per unit length of the coil
- inserting a soft iron core made of soft magnetic material (if the core is not
present yet)

Uses of Electromagnets

➔ Sorting scrap metal

➔ Audio and video tapes
➔ Credit, debit and ATM cards
➔ Television and computer monitors
➔ Electric bells
➔ Circuit breakers

Uses of Permanent Magnets

➔ Magnetic door catches

➔ Magnetic strips on doors of refrigerators
➔ Magnetic compasses
➔ Loudspeakers
➔ Electric Meters
➔ Electric Motors

14
15