What is the direction of magnetic field lines in a bar magnet?
Magnetic field lines are defined to have the direction that a small compass points when placed at a location. (a) If small compasses are used to map the magnetic field around a bar magnet, they will point in the directions shown: away from the north pole of the magnet, toward the south pole of the magnet.
Where does a paperclip have to be in order to be attracted to a magnet?
The invisible area around a magnet which attracts another object is called a magnetic field. Magnetic objects (such as paperclips) will get pulled towards the magnet if they are placed in this field. You can see the magnetic field of a magnet using iron metal filings in a Ziploc bag or iron filings in a sealed case.
Why is a nail attracted to a magnet?
The nail will stick to the bar magnet because it will become magnetized. The presence of the nearby north pole rearranges the magnetic domains inside the steel so that their south poles all point toward the north pole of the permanent magnet. As a result, the other end of the nail becomes a north pole.
Can a iron nail attract a magnet?
Iron is not naturally magnetic, but it isn’t hard to turn it into a magnet. If you bring an iron nail close to the north end of a magnet, the south ends of the tiny magnets inside of the iron start to line up because they are attracted to the magnet, turning the iron into a magnet in the process.
Will a magnet attract nail?
However, if one brings a magnet near a piece of iron, such as a nail, the domains in the nail will become aligned. This has the effect of turning the nail into a temporary magnet and so it will be attracted to the permanent magnet (see Figure 3). Permanent magnets have domains with permanently aligned poles.
What would happen if a magnet was broken in half?
You can think of a magnet as a bundle of tiny magnets, called magnetic domains, that are jammed together. Each one reinforces the magnetic fields of the others. Each one has a tiny north and south pole. If you cut one in half, the newly cut faces will become the new north or south poles of the smaller pieces.