Magnetism

Magnets
 Magnets are any material capable of attracting
ferromagnetic materials and producing a magnetic field
outside itself.
 Magnetic field is invisible.
 But it is responsible for the most notable property of
magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials,
such as iron, cobalt, nickel and steel.
 Magnet attracts or repels other magnets.

Discovery of Magnets
 According to Greek legend, magnetism was first discovered
by a shepherd named Magnes, who lived in Magnesia,
Greece.
 Magnes was herding his sheep through the mountains.
Suddenly he noticed the ferrule of his stick and nails in his
sandals got stuck to a rock. The iron in his stick and nails
had become attracted to the magnetic rock.
 The stone was named magnetite, after the name of the
shepherd or the country it was found in. It was also known
as a loadstone because of its attractive properties.

Magnetite
 Magnetite is one of the three natural occurring oxides of
iron.
 It gets attracted to magnets and can be easily magnetized
to form a permanent magnet.
 Naturally magnetized pieces of magnetite are called
loadstone or the leading stone because of the way it could
be used to find directions.
 Today it is known as the mineral magnetite (Fe3O4)
Not all magnets are the same.
Lodestones are natural magnets. They are not very strong
magnets because their iron particles are scattered throughout
the rock.
Magnets made by humans are stronger because their iron
particles are more dense. All magnets pull objects made of iron
or steel toward them.

Attractive Property of Magnets

 Magnets can attract or repel other magnets and can attract
any magnetic material even if it is not magnetised.
 Materials whish get attracted towards magnets are called
magnetic materials, for example, copper, iron, nickel, steel,
cobalt etc.
 Non-magnetic materials such as wood, paper, plastic and
most metals, don’t get attracted towards magnets.

Uses of Magnets
 It is used in a compass to find directions.
 It is used in factories for lifting heavy masses of iron.
 It is used by surgeons in hospitals to remove steel splinters
from the wounds.
 It is used in construction of telephones, electric bell etc.
 It is used to separate iron and steel from non-magnetic
materials.

Different shapes of Magnets

How to make your own magnet?

  Take an Iron bar and a Magnet bar.
 Place one of the magnet's pole at the edge of the iron bar.
 Slide the magnet towards the other edge of the iron bar
without lifting the magnet.
 Lift the magnet now and place at the initial position again
with same pole touching iron bar.

Activity 1
Aim : To defy gravity.
Materials : Stick, String, Paperclips, Scissors, Tape, Strong
magnets, Metal ruler, Books
Procedure : 1. Start by tying some paperclips to pieces of
string. Then tie the string onto a stick.
2. Lift up the stick so the paperclips hang from the string.
3. Place three magnets along a metal ruler.
4. Suspend the ruler from two stacks of books. Be sure the
magnets are facing down.
5. Take the paper clips and string off your stick.
6. Take one paperclip and hold it until it’s just suspended
below the first magnet. Tape the string in place onto the
table. Do this with the other two paperclips.
7. Put the ruler with magnets back above the paperclips.
Slowly lift each paperclip toward each magnet until they are
all suspended.
Why does this happen ?
The magnetic force between the paperclip and the magnet is
stronger than the gravitational pull of gravity. This means the
paper clip remains suspended in the air rather than falling to
the ground. Most paper clips are made of steel, which is why
this trick works.

Repulsive Property of Magnets

Both are North poles or both are south
poles, then the two poles will repel
each other. If you are trying to bring
the opposite poles together there will
be a force of attraction between the
two magnets. Inference: Like poles
repel each other and unlike poles
attract each other.
Magnetic Field Lines
Magnet has two poles , one pole is designated the North pole
and the other, the South pole. When suspended freely, these
poles point approximately towards the geographic north and
south poles, respectively.
Magnetic field lines around a magnet represent the magnetic
field.
The rules are that :
• magnetic field lines join opposite poles.
• magnetic field lines have arrows that point N → S.
• magnetic field lines must not touch each other.
• magnetic field lines must not cross each other.

Experiment 2
Aim : Magnetic Field Lines with Iron Fillings.
Materials Needed : a large piece of paper, a bar magnet, U-
shaped magnet, a cup of iron fillings
Procedure : 1: In the first step, arrange a piece of paper on a
flat surface and place a bar magnet over it.
2: Gently, sprinkle the iron filings around the bar magnet and
make sure they spread all over the paper as a second step.
3: The third step is to observe the effects of the magnetic field
and note down the observation data.
4: Now replace the bar magnet with U-shaped ones.
Observations :

1) The magnetic force comes out of the North Pole and travel
towards the South Pole.
2) Since there is more concentration at the poles, we see more
iron filings sticking to the magnet at the poles.
3) Every field line is visible and appears in the form of rings
around the magnets.
4) You can also observe poles repulsion and opposite poles
attraction effects when two magnets come in closer contact.
How do iron fillings demonstrate a magnetic field?
Iron filings are nothing but ferromagnetic substances which
encompass the magnetic field by themselves. They do consist of
the north and south poles. As soon as these iron fillings meet
the magnet, the like poles of magnet and iron fillings repel each
other. And the iron fillings scatter around the magnet but remain
within the magnetic field. While the opposite poles attract each
other, which is witnessed by the attachment of iron filings to the
magnet.
Compass
An instrument containing a magnetized
pointer that shows the direction of magnetic
north and bearings from it is called a
compass.
A compass has a magnetic needle that can
rotate freely. When a compass is kept at a
place, the magnetic needle aligns in a north-
south direction. The red arrow of the compass
needle is termed as the north pole and the other end as the
south pole.
Magnetic Field Lines with Compass
Magnetic fields can be mapped out using small plotting
compasses:

1. Place the plotting compass near the magnet on a piece of

paper.
2. Mark the direction the compass needle points.
3. Move the plotting compass to many different positions in
the magnetic field, marking the needle direction each time.
4. Join the points to show the field lines.
  If you put the north pole of
one magnet next to the south
pole of the other, then the
field lines go straight from the
north pole of the first magnet
to the south pole of the
second, and you feel an
attractive force between the
two magnets.
 If you have two magnets next
to each other and their north
poles are facing each other or
their south poles are facing each other, you can see that the
field lines move away from each other, so you feel a
repelling force between the two magnets.
Key Features of Magnetic Field Lines
 the magnetic field lines never cross each other
 the closer the lines, the stronger the magnetic field
 the lines have arrowheads to show the direction of the force
exerted by a magnetic north pole
 the arrowheads point from the north pole of the magnet to
its south pole

What happens when a bar magnet is broken into two pieces ?

When a bar magnet is broken into two pieces
then each piece will have unlike poles. Since
magnetic monopole does not exist so if you do
the breaking process repetitively then you will
end up with each piece having unlike poles

Earth – A Giant Magnet

Directive Property of Magnets
Take a magnet and freely suspend it.
Take note of the direction it comes to
rest. If you observe it, you will notice that
it always comes to rest along with the
earth's north-south axis. This is known as a magnet's directive
property.

Magnetic field of the Earth

 A magnetic compass needle deflects
and aligns itself in a specific direction
only in the presence of a magnetic
field.
 This means that our Earth has a
magnetic field around itself and is a
huge magnet.
 In fact, the Earth behaves as if it has
a huge bar magnet placed at its
center.
 The north pole of the compass needle
points in the Earth’s geographic north direction.
 The south pole of the compass needle points in the Earth’s
geographic south direction.
 The magnetic north pole of the compass needle is attracted
towards the geographic north pole of the Earth.
 And the magnetic south pole of the
compass needle is attracted towards
the geographic south pole of the
Earth.
 In fact, the Earth has two sets of
poles viz., geographic (north and
south) poles and magnetic (north
and south) poles.
 The magnetic south pole lies closer to the
geographic north pole and the magnetic
north pole lies closer to the geographic south pole.
 Magnetic north moves very slowly, and is currently in the
Arctic Ocean, north of Alaska.
 The magnetic poles of the Earth shift slightly all the time.
 The magnetic field lines emerge from the north magnetic
pole and enter the south magnetic pole of the Earth.
Are earth's magnetic north and south poles located at
the Earth's geographical north and south pole
respectively?
No, the north and south pole of a magnet aligns with the Earth's
geographical north and south pole respectively. Since unlike
poles attract, the north pole of the magnet must align with the
Earth's magnetic south pole. Similarly the south pole of the
magnet would align with Earth's magnetic north pole. Hence, the
magnetic north and south poles of the Earth must be situated at
geographical south and north poles of the Earth respectively.
Electromagnets
Magnetism is created when electricity was flowed through the
metals. The magnetic force starts when the electricity flows, and
stops when the electric current is disconnected. This kind of
magnetism is called electromagnetism, and it is very helpful for
making magnets that can be switched on and off.

A Core is the object that is inserted into the solenoid, creating

an electromagnet.
Solenoid is a coil of “live” wires.
How to make an
electromagnet?
 An electromagnet is made by
inserting metal core cylinder
inside a solenoid.
  When current passes through the coil, the magnetic
material becomes magnetised.
 When the current is switched off, the magnetic material
loses most of its magnetism.
Factors that affect the magnetic field of an electromagnetic
 The core material - Ferromagnetic cores strengthen the
magnetic field. Iron is a very good core material.
 The current intensity – As the current increases the strength
increases.
 Number of loops - As the number of loops increase, the
strength increase.
Applications of Electromagnets
 The fire door is held open with an electromagnet. The
electromagnet is connected to the fire alarm. When the fire
alarm is switched on, the magnet is switched off and the
door closes.
 In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) the patient is put
through a strong magnetic field created by an
electromagnet. In this field, the atoms in the patient’s body
are align with the field. This can be used to produce an
image of the inside of the body which can be used to detect
many conditions such as tissue damage, disease affecting
the brain, some cancers and heart disease and diseases in
bone joint. Since they only use magnetic field, MRI scanners
are much safer than other techniques such as X-ray
scanning and you can see tissue as well as bone.
 Electromagnets can also be used for sorting scrap metal.
The electromagnet will attract iron and steel, leaving other
non-magnetic metals behind. Common non-magnetic
metals include copper, aluminium and zinc. When the
magnetic metals have been lifted, they can be moved away
and then dropped by switching off the magnet.
 In a toaster, when the handle is pushed down, an
electromagnet holds a metal basket down. A timer turns the
electromagnet off and the metal basket then pops up
containing the toast.
 An electric bell uses an electromagnet to make the hammer
move. When the electromagnet is on, the hammer is pulled
onto the bell. The movement breaks the circuit and the
 hammer moves away from the bell. The circuit becomes
complete again and the hammer is pulled back to the bell.
This continues until the power supply is turned off.
 Electric motors use electromagnets to change electrical
energy into kinetic energy. This is the electromagnet from
inside a small electric motor.