At some point, we all can assume that we have seen one or more forms of magnets. The most basic kind of magnet everyone played with is the bar magnet. In this section, we will learn and discuss magnetic poles and magnetic fields.
Introduction to Magnetic Pole
The most well-known understanding of attractive posts is that they are the situations on the Earth’s surface where the geomagnetic field is vertical. Moreover, we call these poles plunge/or dip poles, and the north and south dipoles don’t need to be (and are not currently) symmetrical opposite. Let’s learn more about magnet and magnetic poles in detail.
Understanding Magnets
Any object or material that has the density to generate an amagnetic field is known as a magnet. A magnet has the ability to attract another magnet for example- iron, steel, cobalt, etc. As of today, magnets are very common and easily available because they can produce artificially in any shape and size.
Types of Magnets
Magnets can be broadly classified under two categories:
- Electromagnet
- Natural Magnet
While electromagnet requires an additional source of electricity to show magnetic characteristics, they are reversible in nature. These magnets lose their magnetic properties in absence of current.
Permanent magnet retains their magnetic property regardless of any outside influence. They are primarily of 4 types:
- Neodymium iron boron (NdFeB)
- Samarium cobalt (SmCo)
- Alnico
- Ceramic or ferrite magnets
Properties of Magnet
Magnets show a few main features. These are:
Attraction – the magnets attract towards ferromagnetic substances like iron, nickel, etc, and the opposite pole of another magnet.
Repulsion – Magnets repel from the similar pole of another magnet
Directional – A magnet always points in a north-south direction when freely we suspend it freely.
Magnetic Poles
We refer to the two ends of a magnet bar as poles. One end of the pole is known as the North Pole and the second end of the pole is known as the South Pole. If you line up two magnets opposite each other for example the South Pole of one magnet faces the north pole of the second magnet, then both the magnets will attract each other.
We refer to this as the attraction of poles. Similarly, if you line up the same pole of both the magnet i.e South Pole of one magnet faces the south pole of another magnet, then both the magnets will push back. We call it repulsion. In simple words, opposite poles attract each other, and the same poles repel.
Magnetic Field of a Magnet
When a charged particle is projected from an area subjected to magnetic force, there are certain points one can observe. The point to remember is that The direction can change however the starting point remains constant.
- If the velocity is along the line of direction of the force P field there is no magnetic force seen.
- If the speed V makes an angle e with the direction of the magnetic field then the magnitude of magnetic force is directly proportional to speed.
- The direction of the magnetic force is perpendicular to the velocity and direction of the magnetic field.
- Magnetic Force is directly proportional to the magnitude of the charge
Therefore we can conclude that:
F = qv x B where q stands for the magnitude of charge, v stands for speed and B stands for the magnetic field.
What are Magnetic Field Lines?
Before learning about magnetic field lines, let’s first know what is Magnetic field actually. A magnetic field is basically an area or region around a magnetic object or a moving electric charge within which a magnetic force acts.
The magnetic field can be illustrated in two ways:
– Magnetic Field lines
– Magnetic field vectors
Further, magnetic field lines can be illustrated as magnetic field vectors. We refer to a set of vectors drawing on a grid as vector fields.
Alternately, field lines come in use to represent the information contained in a magnetic vector field. At any given position, they represent the direction of the magnetic force on a north monopole.
Properties of Magnetic Field Lines
- They never cross each other.
- The density of the field indicates the strength of the magnetic field.
- Field lies always make closed- loops.
- Magnetic field lines always start from the North Pole side and end at the South Pole.
FAQ on Magnetic Poles
Question 1: What is the magnetic pole strength?
Answer 1: It is the force which a magnetic pole exerts while facing another pole.
Question 2: Can a magnetic pole shift?
Answer 2: Theoretically it will take between 1,000 and 10,000 years for the poles to completely shift their direction. However, on average, the earth is capable of shifting at a speed of 6 degrees per day.
Question 3: What happens if a magnetic pole flips?
Answer 3: Polar flip can result in loss of the magnetic field force around the earth. Further, the magnetic field act as a natural barrier from radiation. Moreover, the loss of the force field from around the earth’s surface can lead to massive radiation influx causing the complete destruction of living cells and electronics as well.
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