Magnetism

Magnets
A magnet attracts some materials to it. Such materials are called magnetic
material. Objects not attracted to a magnet are non-magnetic.
Some metals are precious such as silver, gold and platinum. These metals are
expensive. Metals that we use in everyday life are iron, aluminum, steel,
copper, chromium. Often things are made from a mixture of metals. A mixture
of metals is called an alloy.
Iron is used to make machines and cast iron cooking pots.
Steel is an alloy made mainly from iron. It is much stronger than iron. We use
steel to make machines, steel pipes and bridges.
Aluminium is light in weight and does not rust. We use aluminium to make
pans for cooking, aluminium foils and to build aeroplanes. Cans of cold drinks
are also made of aluminum.
Chromium is mixed with steel to make an alloy called stainless steel. Stainless
steel does not rust. It has many uses such as knives, sinks, and medical
instruments.
Copper is used to make electric cables and wires.
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. We use brass to make door handles
Iron, cobalt and nickel are magnetic. Metals that have iron in them attract
magnets well. Steel is one. Metals like brass, copper, zinc and aluminium are
not attracted to magnets.
Shapes of Magnets
Magnets come in different shapes
Bar magnet
Wand Magnet
Disc Magnet
Ring magnet
Bar Magnet
Taking care of magnets
Magnets lose their strength if you damage them. We should not drop or bang
them. We should store them in a box and cover the ends with the keeper.
Uses of magnets
A magnet is anything that produces its own magnetic field. This magnetic field
allows a magnet to exert force on certain metals, called ferromagnetic
material. Some metals, such as copper, gold, aluminium and silver, are not
ferromagnetic. There are two kinds of magnets: permanent and
electromagnets. Unlike most materials, in which electrons spin in random
directions, permanent magnets have electrons that all spin in the same
direction. This results in a magnetic field. Electromagnets use electricity
passing through a coil of wires to create their magnetic fields.

Magnets for Information Storage

Computers, cassette tapes and credit cards use a series of very small magnetic
fields to store information. Computers process information in binary, the base-
2 units of which correspond to a magnetic field aligned to either the north or
the south. These fields are spun, in the case of a hard disk, or wound, in the
case of a cassette, allowing a magnetic sensor to read them.

Common Appliances That Use Magnets

Electric motors use electricity and magnetic fields to create force, so nearly any
appliance that uses electricity to create motion involves magnets. Some
examples are blenders, garage door openers and dishwashers. Old television
sets and monitors use magnetic fields to manipulate a stream of electrons to
form images. Speakers, headphones, telephones and doorbells use magnets to
create sound. Magnets are included in items such as shoes and mattress pads
to provide relief from pain.

Industrial Uses for Magnets

Magnets are used industrially for a variety of purposes. Magnetic sweepers

allow people to easily clean up fragments of waste metal. Miners use magnets
to help pull the metal out of the ore. Food manufacturers use magnets to keep
small iron particles out of food. Vending machines use magnets to differentiate
coins from other material. Large electromagnets are used in construction and
at junkyards to move materials.
Other Devices That Use Magnets

People continue to find new and interesting applications for magnets.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans use magnets which helps to produce
detailed three dimensional images of areas in a patient's body. Magnets are
used in a similar way on a large scale to suspend and accelerate maglev trains,
which are capable of achieving incredible speeds. Here electrically charged
magnets lift and move carriages above the railway tracks.

Magnets are also used in recycling rubbish. Huge magnets are used to attract
the metals from heaps of rubbish which can be melted and recycled again.

Magnetic Poles
Magnets have magnetic poles, called the North Pole and South Pole.
Unlike poles attract and like poles repel.
Attraction and repulsion are magnetic forces
Strength of magnets
Different magnets have different strengths. Some magnets are stronger than
others.
Magnetic field
The magnetic field is the area around a magnet in which there is magnetic force.
Magnetic fields are invisible. We cannot see magnetic field. A magnetic force
can work at a distance. This means it can work without touching magnetic
material. Magnetic force is a non-contact force. We cannot see magnetic field
around a magnet. But if we use iron fillings we can. Iron fillings are tiny bits of
metal, iron. Iron is attracted to magnets. The pattern which the iron fillings form
when a bar magnet is paced on them is called the magnetic field. The iron fillings
show how far the force of magnet goes out and the pattern of the force field
Electromagnets
An electromagnet is a magnet that runs on electricity. Unlike a permanent
magnet, the strength of an electromagnet can easily be changed by changing
the amount of electric current that flows through it. The poles of
an electromagnet can even be reversed by reversing the flow of electricity.
Scrapyards usually have huge magnets to move cars and metals. A special
magnet called an electromagnet is used. The electromagnet has an on and off
switch. When someone switches the electromagnet on, it picks up metal. It may
also move them. When the person switches off the electromagnet switch, it
drops the metal onto the ground.
Earth as magnet
Earth is a huge magnet. The compass has a magnetic needle which will always
point out to the earth’s north and South Pole. This is used by sailors during
navigation. The north pole of the magnet points to the geographical south and
the south pole of the magnet points to the geographical north