Magnetic Forces

Make a list of all the things that you come into contact with every day that use magnets. The pictures below will give you some clues. You might like to share your ideas with others and compile a class list. Magnets that might be found at home 7 Forces in action 207 Like poles repel. Unlike poles attract. Magnetic fields The metallic objects attracted to a magnet lie within the magnet’s magnetic feld. The magnetic feld is the area around a magnet where its magnetic force acts. Although magnetic felds are invisible, we can visualise what they look like by sprinkling iron flings around a magnet. The iron flings line up along the magnetic feld lines. Iron flings sprinkled around bar magnets The magnetic feld is drawn as shown in this diagram. The lines show the direction of the magnetic force. The lines are closest together where the magnetic force is greatest and are furthest apart where the magnetic force is weakest. S N The magnetic feld around a bar magnet Just as iron flings align with the magnetic feld, the needle of a compass lines up with the magnetic feld. The north pole of the compass points in the direction of a magnet’s magnetic feld.