what is it that makes things cling to a magnet

nats's picture
Submitted by nats on Thu, 07/30/2009 - 17:36.

if you place a magnet onto the refridgerator, it clings on. How is it that magnets attract metals to them? What is the logic behind this technology?

»
Trsmd's picture
Magnet
Thu, 07/30/2009 - 18:09 — Trsmd

Magnetic materials, such as iron, nickel, and cobalt, contain clusters of atoms called domains. Each domain has a north and a south pole. When a magnetic object, such as a paper clip, is unmagnetized, its domains face in different directions. But when a magnet is brought near the paper clip, the paper clip's domains temporarily line up, causing it to be attracted to the magnet. Shortly after the magnet is removed, the paper clip's domains return to their original random order.

5
Average: 5 (1 vote)