What is a Magnet?
A magnet is a material or artificial setup that can produce a magnetic field around it. Due to the magnetic field, a magnet can attract ferromagnetic materials (e.g. iron filings) and attract or repel any other magnet. Magnets, suspended through a string, always point towards the north-south direction. A magnet always comes with a pair of magnetic poles, which cannot be separated. These are often referred to as “north pole” and “south pole”. Like poles repel one another whereas opposite poles attract. Some materials naturally behave like magnets whereas it is also possible to manufacture artificial magnets.
A magnet is an associate degree object or factor that produces a force field. This field of magnetism is invisible, however, it's liable for the magnetic field: the force that pulls or repels different magnetic force parts like iron, steel, nickel, cobalt, and others. An eternal magnet could be a material product of magnetic material that produces its own permanent force field. The icebox magnet, for instance, is employed to store notes on the icebox door.
What is Magnetic Force?
The term magnetic force refers to a force field that's extremely magnetic (or ferrimagnetic). The iron, nickel, and cobalt, similarly as many rare metal alloys and present minerals like permanent magnet, comprise this class. Though magnetic force (and ferrimagnetic materials) are the sole ones that attract magnetism sturdy enough to be referred to as magnetic, all different parts react to the force field frail, victimization one among several different magnetic fields.
Types of Magnets
Most magnets used in research and technology are artificially made into different sizes and shapes from magnetized materials. The processes and sources of magnetism widely vary. Some commonly used magnets are,
Magnetic Needle
Horseshoe Magnet
Based on the source of magnetism, magnets can be categorized into the following types:
Electromagnet: Electromagnets are strong magnets, consisting of wires closely wrapped around an iron core. When a current is made to flow through the wires, it behaves like a magnet. As soon as the current is switched off, the magnetic behavior goes away.
Permanent Magnets: Permanent magnets are products of "solid" magnetic force materials like alloy and primary solid solution, that are subjected to special process in an exceedingly sturdy force field throughout construction to align their crystalline internal structure, creating them very troublesome to get rid of magnets. A selected force field should be provided to get rid of the force field, and this limit is set by the force of the force field.
Forcing "solid" objects is high, and forcing "soft" objects low. the instant of magnetism or, in turn, the whole quantity of magnet created by a magnet is employed to see its total strength. Magnetization could be a life of the physical strength of magnetism.
However, due to high temperature and stress, even permanent magnets can lose magnetic properties. Some examples are,
Alnico (an alloy of Aluminum, Nickel, and Cobalt)
Ferrite or ceramic (iron oxides mixed with nickel, cobalt or strontium)
Samarium Cobalt
Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB)
Temporary Magnet: These magnets are manufactured by exposing ferromagnetic materials to a magnetic field. When the magnetic field is removed, the materials lose their characteristics of a magnet. These magnets are made up of various soft materials. Some temporary magnet examples are iron and iron alloys, nails, and paper clips.
Electromagnet: Electromagnets are strong magnets, consisting of wires closely wrapped around an iron core. When a current is made to flow through the wires, it behaves like a magnet. As soon as the current is switched off, the magnetic behavior goes away
Properties of Magnet
Magnets have distinctive and interesting properties as follows,
Attractive Property of Magnet: A magnet attracts ferromagnetic materials like iron, nickel, and cobalt.
Directive Property of a Magnet: If a magnet is suspended from rigid support such that it can rotate freely, the magnet always points towards the north-south direction.
Poles of a Magnet: Magnets have two poles, where the strength of the magnetic field is the strongest. Magnetic poles exist in pairs. No matter how small a magnet is, it is impossible to separate one pole.
Like poles always repel each other but opposite poles attract.
The magnetic force (attraction or repulsion) between two objects is inversely proportional to the distance between them. The force is stronger when the objects are close.
Applications of Magnet
Speakers and microphones: several speakers use a static magnet and a coil that currently holds to convert power (signal) into mechanical (noise-causing motion). The coil wound round the reel connected to the speaker cone holds the signal as a versatile current that interacts with the static magnet field.
Like speakers, some electrical motors use a mixture of electrical magnets and permanent magnets to convert power into energy. A generator converts energy into power by moving the conductor to a force field.
In addition to invasive surgery, hospitals use resonance imaging to diagnose the patient's limbs.
Nuclear resonance could be a methodology employed by chemists to provide products.
Magnets are widely used in daily life, science, and technology. Some uses are, Permanent magnets are used in hard drives, television, cars, motors.
Temporary magnets are often used in manufacturing electromagnets.
Did you know?
The Earth has a magnetic field. It can be considered as a very large bar magnet, with its north pole being located near the geographical north pole and its south pole being located near the geographical south pole. Due to this magnet, all magnets on the Earth point in the geographic north-south direction.
(Image will be uploaded soon)
The first magnetic material was discovered in the Magnesia region of Asia. It was named “Magnetite” (Fe3O4). There is another story that suggests that the material was discovered by a shepherd named Magnes, who observed his shoe nails to stick with some rocks (apparently containing magnetite).
Previously, magnetite was used by sailors in the oceans as a compass. Therefore, it is also known as “leading stone” or “lodestone”.
FAQs on Magnet
1. What is a magnet?
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This invisible field is responsible for the force that attracts ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, cobalt, and nickel. A key characteristic is that every magnet has at least two poles, a north pole and a south pole.
2. What are the main types of magnets explained in the CBSE syllabus?
As per the curriculum for the 2025-26 session, magnets are primarily classified into three types:
- Permanent Magnets: These are made from materials like Alnico or Ferrite that are magnetised during manufacturing and retain their magnetic properties without any external power source. They are difficult to demagnetise.
- Temporary Magnets: These are made from soft iron and behave like a magnet only when in the presence of a strong magnetic field. They lose their magnetism once the external field is removed. Paper clips and nails are common examples.
- Electromagnets: These consist of a coil of wire wrapped around an iron core. A strong magnetic field is produced only when an electric current flows through the wire. The magnetism disappears when the current is switched off.
3. What are the two fundamental properties of a magnet?
The two fundamental properties of any magnet are:
- Attractive Property: A magnet attracts ferromagnetic materials like iron, steel, nickel, and cobalt. The force of attraction is strongest at the poles of the magnet.
- Directive Property: When a magnet is suspended freely, it aligns itself in a North-South direction. This is due to the Earth's own magnetic field and is the principle behind a magnetic compass.
4. How do magnets actually work?
Magnets work due to the alignment of microscopic regions called magnetic domains within a material. In an unmagnetised material like a piece of iron, these domains are randomly oriented, and their magnetic effects cancel each other out. When the material is placed in a strong magnetic field, these domains align in the same direction, creating a net magnetic field and turning the object into a magnet. In permanent magnets, this alignment is locked in place.
5. Why can't a magnet have only one pole (a magnetic monopole)?
A magnet cannot have only one pole because magnetic poles always exist in north-south pairs. This is a fundamental law of magnetism. If you cut a bar magnet in half, you do not get a separate north pole and a south pole. Instead, you get two smaller magnets, each with its own north and south pole. This is because magnetism is caused by the alignment of atomic-level magnetic domains, which inherently have a dipole (two-pole) nature.
6. What is the key difference between how a permanent magnet and an electromagnet create a magnetic field?
The key difference lies in the source of their magnetism. A permanent magnet has a persistent magnetic field generated by the internal alignment of its atomic structure, requiring no external power. In contrast, an electromagnet creates its magnetic field only when an electric current flows through its wire coil. Its strength can be controlled by adjusting the current, and it loses all magnetism when the power is turned off.
7. How are magnets used in everyday electronic devices like speakers and hard drives?
Magnets are crucial in many modern devices:
- In speakers, a permanent magnet interacts with an electromagnet (a voice coil) attached to a cone. Varying the electric current in the coil causes it to rapidly attract and repel the permanent magnet, making the cone vibrate to produce sound waves.
- In hard drives, a magnetic head reads and writes data by magnetising tiny sections of a spinning platter. The direction of the magnetic field in each section represents a binary 0 or 1.
8. Which type of magnet is considered the strongest?
The strongest type of commercially available permanent magnets are neodymium magnets (also known as NdFeB magnets). They are a type of rare-earth magnet made from an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron. They produce significantly stronger magnetic fields than other types like ferrite or alnico magnets, making them essential for applications requiring powerful, compact magnets, such as in electric motors, headphones, and MRI machines.
