Olivia – Magnets and Magnetic Fields lesson

Magnets
 North and south pole
 Magnetic forces strongest near magnetic poles
 Like forces repel
 Opposite forces attract
 Type of non-contact force

Forces – measured in N = newtons

Types

 Contact with two surfaces in contact – friction, air resistance (drag), tension (pulled apart
like spring), normal contact
o FATN
 Non-contact act over distance – gravitational, electrostatic (negative and positive charge),
magnetic
o GEM

Forces are vectors = size and direction → represented by arrows

 As opposed to scaler only has size

Induced and permanent magnetism

 Permanent
o Made of magnetic material
o Always causes a force on other magnets/magnetic materials
o Features
 Produces own magnetic field
 Can’t turn magnetic field on or off – there all the time
o E.g.
 Bar magnets
 Horseshoe magnets
 Induced
o Only becomes magnet when placed in magnetic field
o Lost when removed
o E.g.
 Iron filings
o Features:
 Only attracted by other magnets
 Not repelled
 Lose most/all magnetism when removed from magnetic field

Testing for magnetism

 Permanent magnet
 o Attract or repel another permanent magnet
o Attract magnetic material (but not repel it)
 Check an object with a permanent magnet by checking if it repels another magnet

Detecting magnetic fields

 Magnetic field – region around magnet where force acts on another magnet or on a
magnetic material
 Use a magnetic compass
o Needle points in direction of Earth’s magnetic field or magnetic field of a magnet
 Plotting compass = way to map out magnet fields

o
o Needle of compass points towards south pole of magnet

o
o Earth’s core (iron and nickel) has a magnetic field
 Features of magnetic fields
o the magnetic field lines never cross each other
o the closer the lines, the stronger the magnetic field
o the lines have arrowheads to show the direction of the force exerted by a magnetic
north pole
o the arrowheads point from the north pole of the magnet to its south pole
Questions
Electromagnets
Electromagnetism – caused by magnetic fields around electric currents

 Fields can cause forces with other nearby magnets → makes motors spin and loudspeakers
sound

The LEFT hand rule

When current flows in a wire → it creates a magnetic field around it

When wire interacts with an external magnetic field it experiences a force

Electric motors make use of these forces by the electromagnetic motor effect

Magnetic field defects needle of a magnetic compass

Strength of magnetic field is greater

 Closer to the wire

 If the current is increased
The generator effect

Using force to generate electric power

Solenoid

 Wire coiled up into a spiral shape

 When an electric current flows the magnetic field is like that of a bar magnet
 The magnetic field in each coil add up to make a strong overall magnetic field

Electromagnets

= solenoid with an iron core

 Iron core increases the solenoid’s magnetic field strength

The motor effect
More questions
Correct answer is indeed “always in the same direction…”