EXPERIMENT 35
Magnets…
…can be made in all kinds of shapes. There are bar and ring magnets like the
ones in your kit, but magnets also exist as tubes, disks, powders, flexible films,
and as lots of other types as well, depending on how they are to be used.
But you can always tell a magnet apart from similarly shaped iron pieces, sim-
ply by bringing another magnet close to it. Start by turning one of the magnet’s
ends toward the unknown object, then turn it around and bring the other end
close. If the object in question is a piece of iron, you will feel a force of attrac-
tion with both ends. If the object is itself a magnet, it will be pushed away when
one of the ends of the first magnet is moved close to it. You will investigate this
phenomenon in the next experiment.
Magnetism
37
WHAT’S HAPPENING
In fact, any magnet has two
locations where its magnetic
force is greatest. These are
called the “magnetic poles.”
With the bar magnet, the
poles are at the ends, and the
magnetic force is much
weaker in the middle. With
the ring magnet, it’s the ring-
shaped surfaces that repre-
sent the poles.
Centers of force
HERE’S HOW
Bring the disk close to the bar magnet
and move it slowly around the magnet.
Where do you feel the force of attraction
most strongly?
Let the disk be attracted by the magnet.
Where does it stick to the magnet?
Repeat the experiment with the ring
magnet.
You have probably noticed that the magnetic force is not equally strong in all
parts of the magnet. Now it’s time to investigate this a little more closely, using a
plastic disk with an iron ring as your test object.
Summary of Contents for Electricity and Magnetism 620417
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