A magnet is an object or material that creates a magnetic field that attracts itself to itself.Magnetism is known as the force with which attraction or repulsion is created between substances such as steel, iron, cobalt, or nickel. In simple terms, the magnetic force is created because of the movement of an electric charge.Magnetic material has atoms that consist of tiny magnets that come together in large numbers to create magnetic domains that line up in a single direction. These magnetic domains play an important role in the creation of a magnet. Magnetizing a substance needs the presence of another strongly magnetic element to enter the magnetic field of a nearby magnet. In short, the magnetic field is based on the magnetic force of the magnet.In the modern-day, magnets are used in everyday life, industry, and science. Magnets are used in a plethora of machines that make use of electric motors in small objects like electric fans or in larger objects like junk scraping machines.If you like this article about what do magnets attract, be sure to check out fun fact articles about is silver magnetic and 3 magnetic metals.Elements That Magnet AttractsIn most cases, magnets attract or resist objects that have iron in them. Screws, bolts, scissors, and paper clips are some of the everyday-use objects that are attracted by magnets. However, it is false that magnets will attract any metal. This example can be seen in cans made of aluminum, as even though they are made of metal, they do not contain any traces of magnetic attraction. Steel objects are attracted to metals because iron is used as a base element in their creation. Brass, just like aluminum, lacks any presence of magnetic behavior, making it another element that cannot be attracted by magnets.In day-to-day activities, magnets are often found in use in objects like refrigerator magnets, or magnetic toys. These are all created from ferromagnetic materials that have magnetic properties in them. Industrial magnets are created using ferromagnetic objects and rare-earth metals.The popular examples of two metals that do not respond to magnets are silver and gold.Non-Magnetic Things That Magnet AttractsNon-magnetic materials are known as materials that are not attracted by magnets. These materials lack magnetic poles or any sort of electric current that can induce a magnetic field in them. Rubber, water, and plastic are some non-magnetic elements that cannot be attracted by magnets.However, if a non-magnetic item like rubber or any sort of plastic container was covered in a substance or had iron filings in it with magnetic characteristics, the magnetic forces of the magnets and the substance would collide, which could result in the substances being attracted to each other because of their north and south poles.Nature Made Things That Magnet AttractsThe Earth itself is a giant magnet! The movement of the molten iron nucleus of the Earth creates an electric current that creates its own magnetic field. In the case of bar magnets, the north poles, and the compass needles find themselves attracted to the geographical north pole of Earth because the geographic north pole is Earth’s magnetic south pole.Natural minerals exhibit a magnetic attraction that can be weak as well as strong. Most minerals with platinum in them show a magnetic pull because of the impurities in them made up of ferrous elements.A lodestone is a naturally occurring magnet because of its iron composition. Lodestone was used as a magnetic mineral by ancient Greek and Chinese sailors, who used the material to calibrate compasses. Lodestones became the first magnetic compasses in the world!Weird Things That Magnet AttractsDepending on the strength of a manner, it can pull objects like gas, solids, and even liquids. Because the magnetic poles repel or attract objects that are only in the magnetic field, magnets have a limit to their reach and can only attract or repel other magnetic objects that enter the magnet’s magnetic field.Some weird things that magnets attract are liquids, dollar bills, breakfast cereal, and even strawberries if the magnet in use is strong enough! This occurs because these elements contain small traces of ferrous materials. In a dollar bill, the ink filing comprises iron particles.Did You Know…Magnetic fields are measured with a device called a magnetometer. These devices are also used to measure the magnetic properties of antique rocks. These rocks, formed on the surface of the planet, were magnetized by the magnetic field of the Earth. In some cases, ancient rocks can also be found magnetized in opposite directions as the Earth’s magnetic field often reverses itself. Due to this method, the movements of rocks along the surface of the Earth since its formation can be tracked.La Ventanilla, Mexico is famous for its beaches of black sand. The presence of iron oxide in the dust and debris that form the sand is attracted to the powerful magnetic field of any sort of magnet around it.Iron or steel are mainly used to create magnets. However, strong magnets can also be created from cobalt, copper, aluminum, nickel, and copper.Electromagnets are created from wires that carry current. Coiled wires produce stronger fields because of all the turns that the wires have. However, the field keeps getting stronger if the wire is wrapped around an iron core. Electromagnets come in single coils, two coils, or bent double. Scrap metal can be handled with ease because of electromagnets, as strong magnetism is helpful in picking up steel. Scrap is dropped when the current to the magnets is switched off because the magnetism disappears. Electromagnets are used to generate electricity in hydroelectric dams.The magnetosphere is a region that is dominated by the Earth’s magnetic field. In this particular region, Earth’s magnetic field wraps itself around the atmosphere and the planet. The magnetosphere is pressed against by solar wind, which is a result of charged particles originating from the sun. Our Earth might act as a magnet, but it is not a permanent magnet.Materials like paper and cloth are magnetically weak because, in these materials, similar amounts of electrons spin, and they do so in opposite directions, which causes magnetism in the material to cancel out. In most magnetic materials, the electrons spin in a similar direction. This process does not make the material magnetic, but rather the atoms present in the material. In order to become a magnet, the substance needs to enter the magnetic field of an already existing magnet. The magnetic field is simply defined as the area encompassing a magnet.All magnets have magnetic poles, which comprise the north and south poles. Magnets attract or repel depending on which side they are facing, as opposite poles attract and the same poles repel. If a piece of iron is rubbed along with a magnet, the magnetic poles align the atoms of the object, in turn creating a magnetic field and turning the iron into a magnet.Ferromagnets are used to create magnets that are a part of day-to-day life, like refrigerator magnets and magnetic toys. Cobalt, nickel, and iron are the only known ferromagnetic elements in the world. Industrial magnets are made using more expensive and rare elements from the Earth.Cow magnets are used by farmers to trace any piece of metal that the cow may have swallowed while grazing the fields.Breaking a bar magnet in half will give you two magnets, and these pieces will have their very own north and south pole. This occurs because each and every magnet has one south pole and one north pole. In the case of two magnets, the north poles and the south poles repel each other, whereas a south pole and a north pole attract each other.The magnetic compass was one of the most widely used methods of navigating in ancient times, as the compass would use the Earth’s magnetic field to show the direction. The needles of a magnetic compass follow the magnetic poles because the north-facing side of a magnet will always point toward the geographic north pole of Earth.Magnetic field lines are a mathematical construct that is used to conceive the idea of how magnets work. A small example of how a magnetic field looks can be seen in the iron fillings lining the field line of a magnet.A permanent magnet, created from ferromagnetic materials, can pick up on a magnetic field that can be 3000 times stronger than the magnetic field of Earth. It is often not recommended to heat or hammer any ferromagnetic substance, as intense heat can cause the magnet to lose its magnetic properties. This occurs because the magnetization is lost as heat mixes up the molecules in the magnet, causing the alignment between the north pole and the south pole to vanish.The Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, is caused by Earth’s magnetism! Due to the Earth’s being a giant magnet because of its molten iron core and magnetic field, the Earth’s magnetic field often pulls in particles from the solar wind, which mix with the magnetic field and creates the phenomenon we call the Northern Lights.Compared to ferromagnetic metals, paramagnetic metals are much weaker because of their minimal attraction to magnets. These metals do not hold on to their magnetic properties since they do not have a magnetic field. Magnesium, molybdenum, platinum, and lithium are some of the paramagnetic metals.The two most powerful magnets in the world reside in the United States! Florida State University (FSU) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico house these two magnets that can reach 45 and 100 tesla, respectively. Junkyard magnets that are used to scrape metal reach about 2 tesla.Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn are the only planets with their own magnetic fields in our solar system.A magnetic force is also known as a non-contact force, as magnetic poles can attract or repel objects without needing to touch them. Magnets are attracted to metals with magnetic characteristics.The Maglev trains use powerful electromagnets to achieve high speeds. These trains are known to float on their tracks, which causes a reduction in friction for more efficient running.Neodymium magnets are made from a combination or alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron known as NIB. These magnets are rare-class because of their nature as natural magnetic elements. Like most other strong magnetic materials, NIBs, too, are brittle. Because of their brittleness, these magnets are reinforced with stronger metals like nickel. A neodymium magnet cannot be turned off because they are permanent magnets, meaning the magnetism in these permanent magnets cannot be halted.The magnetic fields of weakened magnets can be realigned using a stronger magnet! This can either be achieved by rubbing a strong magnet against a weak magnet or by stacking stronger magnets on top of weak magnets. In most cases, magnetic forces can only attract magnetic materials. This also causes the magnetic material to act as a magnet itself.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for what magnets attract, then why not take a look at 3 types of magnets, or about magnets?
A magnet is an object or material that creates a magnetic field that attracts itself to itself.
