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There are many legends that tell us
about the discovery of magnets.
One of the most common, is that of
an elderly shepherd named
Magnets, who was herding his sheep
in an area of Northern Greece
called Magnesia, about 4,000 years
ago.
It is said that both the nails in his
shoes and the metal tip of his staff
became firmly stuck to the large,
black rock on which he was
standing. This type of rock was later
named magnetite, after either
Magnesia or Magnets himself.
Magnets are in most electronic devices, in fact,
anything that has a motor uses a magnet.
They are used to slow
down roller coasters
and subways.
More uses of magnets are found every day!
Magnets around the House:
Headphones Refrigerator magnets
Computer speakers Telephone receivers
Phone ringers Microwave tubes
Seal around refrigerator door
Plug-in battery eliminators
Floppy disk recording and reading head
Audio tape recording and playback head
Video tape recording and playback head
Credit card magnetic strip TV deflection coil
Computer monitor Computer hard drive
Shower curtain weights / attach to tub
Power supply transformers
How do magnets help in a scrap yard?
A car is made up of many different materials. When
a car is scrapped the different types of metals need
to be sorted. A huge rotating magnet is used to sort
the magnetic materials from the non-magnetic
materials. Separating the materials allows them to
be reused.
Magnetic materials
Which of the materials below are magnetic?
wood
wood
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Magnetic materials :
Magnetic materials are attracted to magnets and can be
magnetized. Strongly magnetic materials contain iron,
nickel or cobalt (eg. Steel is mainly iron).
Non-magnetic materials:
Non-magnetic materials are not attracted to magnets
e.g. Metals like brass, copper, zinc, tin , aluminium and
non-metals like wood , plastic etc
Magnetic or non-magnetic?
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cylindrical magnet
wand magnet
bar magnet
doughnut magnet
horseshoe magnet
What are magnets?
Magnets are made from magnetic materials, such
as iron and steel. These are metals that can be
magnetised or are attracted to a magnet.
Bar magnets are permanent magnets. This means they
are always magnetised.
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Properties of a magnet:
• A freely suspended magnet
always points in the north-
south direction.
• A magnet has always two
poles: north pole (N-pole)
and south pole (S-pole)
• Like poles (N-N or S-S) repel
and unlike poles (N-S)
attract.
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Attraction and repulsion
What happens if you bring two bar magnets together?
⚫ If a north pole and a south pole are brought together,
they attract and the magnets are pulled together
⚫ If two north poles or two south poles are brought together,
they repel and the magnets push each other apart.
We say that unlike poles attract, and like poles repel.
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Forces between magnets experiment
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A bar magnet cut into halves always makes new, complete
magnets with both a north and a south pole. The poles
always come in pairs, and the separation of a pair into
single poles, called monopoles, has never been
accomplished.
When an unmagnetized substance is placed in a
magnetic field, the substance can become
magnetized.
This happens when the spinning electrons line up in
the same direction.
Methods of Magnetisation
• BY INDUCTION: Placing a piece of steel near a magnet
makes it permanently magnetised, but its magnetism
is usually weak.
• BY STROKING: The magnet can be magnetized more
strongly by stroking it with one end of a magnet.
• ELECTRICAL METHOD: The best way of magnetizing is
to place the steel bar in a long coil of wire and pass a
large, direct (one way) current through the coil. The
coil has a magnetic effect which magnetizes the steel.
Methods of Magnetisation:
a) By Induction:
Placing a piece of steel N S
near a magnet makes it
permanently
magnetised, but its S
magnetism is usually N
weak.
A North pole induces a
North pole in the far
end.
Induced Magnetism
When a piece of unmagnetised magnetic material touches
or is brought near to the pole of a permanent magnet, it
becomes a magnet itself. The magnetism is induced.
A North pole induces a North pole in the far end.
OR
The process by which a substance, such as iron or steel,
becomes magnetized by a magnetic field. The induced
magnetism is produced by the force of the field radiating
from the poles of a magnet.
Single Stroke Method:
Wide sweep away
from the steel
N S
Induced poles
The magnet can be magnetized more
strongly by stroking it with one end
of a magnet
Electrical Method:
Steel
Coil
The best way of magnetizing is to
place the steel bar in a long coil of
wire and pass a large, direct (one
way) current through the coil. The
coil has a magnetic effect which
magnetizes the steel.
What is a magnetic field?
The region around a magnet where it has a magnetic
effect is called its magnetic field.
When a magnetic material
is placed in a magnetic field
it will experience a force.
The iron filings feel the
effect of the magnetic field
and line up along the
direction of the forces in
this region.
magnetic field
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Magnetic field of a bar magnet:
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Magnetic field lines
The shape of a magnetic field can be shown by drawing
magnetic field lines. These always point from the north
pole of a magnet to the south pole, along the direction of the
magnetic forces in each region. Where is the magnetic field
strongest?
strongest
field at
poles
The closer together
the magnetic field
lines, the stronger
the magnetic field.
weakest field further away
from poles
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Viewing magnetic fields: N poles together
Bring the north poles of two bar magnets together.
What happens to the magnets?
Next, bring the two north poles as close to each other as
possible and place a piece of paper on top of the magnets.
1. Carefully scatter iron filings onto the paper.
2. Draw the pattern created by the iron filings.
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Magnetic field pattern: N poles together
What do you notice about the pattern of the lines of force
in the region between the two north poles?
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Viewing magnetic fields: N poles together
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Viewing magnetic fields: N and S poles together
Bring the north and south poles of two bar magnets together.
What happens to the magnets?
Next, put the north and south poles close to each other,
without letting them touch, and place a piece of paper on top.
1. Carefully scatter iron filings onto the paper.
2. Draw the pattern created by the iron filings.
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Magnetic field pattern: N and S poles together
What do you notice about the pattern of the lines of force
in the region between the north and south poles?
How does this pattern compare with the pattern between
the two north poles?
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Viewing magnetic fields: N and S poles together
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The Earth’s magnetic field
People have used magnetism to navigate for hundreds of
years. The Earth’s iron core creates a magnetic field.
The north poles of magnets, such as compass needles,
are attracted to the North Pole of the Earth.
But if like poles repel, why is the north
pole of a magnet attracted to the
North Pole of the Earth?
These poles were named before
magnetism was properly understood.
The ‘Magnetic North Pole’ of the
Earth is really a magnetic south pole.
Do you think that you would be able to use a compass
to navigate on other planets, or on the moon?
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Earth’s magnetic field
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Magnetic fields: summary
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Magnetic effects of current
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Making an electromagnet
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Using electromagnets – recycling
A large electromagnet is used on a recycling plant conveyor
belt to pick up and move metal cans.
Which metals would the electromagnet attract?
What advantages does an electromagnet
have over a permanent magnet?
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Uses of electromagnets – electric bell
The circuit for a door bell includes an electromagnet.
When the circuit is closed, the
electromagnet pulls the
armature towards it, causing
the hammer to strike the bell.
The movement of the
armature breaks the circuit,
and the hammer returns to its
original position.
This sequence repeats,
causing the bell to sound
continuously.
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Label the diagram – electric bell
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Using electromagnets – door bells
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Using electromagnets – the relay
Lifts, cars and other large electrical machines use
high currents.
Relays use an
electromagnet to allow a
small current in one
circuit to control a large
current in another circuit.
Can you predict what will
happen when the switch
is closed in this circuit?
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Label the diagram – relay
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Electromagnets: summary
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Magnets: true or false?
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