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Reading Essentials 01 Magnetism and Its Uses

The document discusses magnetism and magnetic fields. It explains that magnets have north and south poles and apply forces of attraction or repulsion depending on which poles are close together. The document also describes how magnetic field lines represent magnetic fields and that Earth itself acts like a giant bar magnet with its own magnetic field.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
89 views5 pages

Reading Essentials 01 Magnetism and Its Uses

The document discusses magnetism and magnetic fields. It explains that magnets have north and south poles and apply forces of attraction or repulsion depending on which poles are close together. The document also describes how magnetic field lines represent magnetic fields and that Earth itself acts like a giant bar magnet with its own magnetic field.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MODULE 7

Magnetism and Its Uses


1 Magnetism
BEFORE YOU READ WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Think about a magnet that you have used. Tell what it looked like • how a magnet applies force
and the kinds of materials it attracted. • how temporary and
It attract in the refirgerator, is a magnet of publicity. permanent magnets act
• magnetic materials and
magnetic domains

READ TO LEARN
Magnets STUDY COACH
Discussion After reading this
Magnets were discovered over 2000 years ago. Greeks section, use an index card to
discovered a mineral that could attract pieces of iron. This mineral write down the two most
is now called magnetite. In the twelfth century, Chinese sailors important things you learned.
Put one idea on one side and
used magnetite to make compasses. Compasses are tools that can the second idea on the back.
help you determine which direction you are traveling. Since then Form a group of four students
many items have been invented that use magnets. Magnetism to discuss your topics.
refers to the properties of magnets and how magnets interact
when they are near each other.

Magnetic force
Magnets apply a force on each other. These forces make
magnets do one of two things. The magnets can attract, which
means they pull together. Or the magnets can repel, which means
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education

they push each other away. How they react depends on which
ends of the magnets are close together. Two magnets interact with
each other even before they touch. As the magnets move closer
together, the force between them increases. As the magnets move
farther apart, the force decreases.

Magnetic strength
Some magnets are stronger than others. A magnet from your
refrigerator can be used to pick up paper clips, but a much
stronger magnet would be needed to lift a car.

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses


101
Magnetic Fields
The way magnetic forces interact with each other is caused
by magnetic fields. The magnetic field exerts a force on
other magnets and objects that are made of magnetic material.
The magnetic force is strongest close to the magnet.

Magnetic field lines


Lines can represent a magnetic
field. The figure to the right shows
what magnetic fields might look N
like. The arrows show that
magnetic fields have direction. S

PICTURE THIS
1. Highlighting Using a
highlighter, trace the lines
of the magnetic fields for Magnetic poles
all three types of magnets Magnetic poles are the places on a magnet that exert, or put
shown on this page. At forth, the strongest magnetic force. All magnets have a north and
which magnetic pole did
a south pole. As shown, the north and south poles are at the
you always start?
opposite ends of a bar magnet. The lines that represent the
At north
magnetic field are closest together at the poles.
The next figures show the
magnetic poles of two magnets with N

different shapes. A horseshoe-shaped


magnet has its north and south poles S
at its two ends. The magnetic field
lines start at the north pole and end
at the south pole. Look at the disk N
magnet and the bar magnet. Like all

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education


magnets, the magnetic field lines of S
the disk magnet and the bar magnet
go from north pole to south pole.
How magnetic poles interact Remember, two magnets can
A Organizing Information either attract or repel each other. This depends on which poles of
Make the following the magnets are placed close together. M07_006A-668304
Two north poles will repel
Foldable to help you each other. The same is true for two south poles. However, a north
organize information about pole and a south pole always attract each other. Like magnetic
magnetic fields, magnetic
poles, and how magnets poles repel each other, and unlike poles attract each other.
repel and attract.
Magnets
ct
l
Poles
Field

Repe

Attra

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses


102

M07_001A-685545
Magnetic field direction
A compass needle is a small bar magnet. The force exerted
by another bar magnet will make the compass needle turn.
The needle turns until it lines up with magnetic field lines. The
south pole in a compass needle is attracted to the north pole of
a magnet.

Earth’s magnetic field


Earth is like a giant bar magnet. It is surrounded by a magnetic
field and has a north and a south magnetic pole. Earth also has a
north and a south geographic pole. The geographic poles are at
opposite ends of Earth—one in the north and one in the south.
These are different from the magnetic poles. The south magnetic
pole is near the geographic north pole.

Magnetic pole Geographic north pole

N
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education

Geographic south pole Magnetic pole

Earth’s magnetic poles A compass needle lines up with Earth’s PICTURE THIS
magnetic field lines. The needle always points toward Earth’s 2. Determine Write an N on
M07_012A-668304 the figure to show where
geographic north pole. Remember that magnetic poles are
Earth’s north magnetic pole
attracted only to their opposite. So, even though the compass is is. Write an S on the figure
pointing at the geographic north pole of Earth, the north pole of to show where Earth’s south
the compass is pointing at the south magnetic pole of Earth. magnetic pole is.

The source of Earth’s magnetic field The figure shows the


magnetic field lines around Earth. No one is sure what causes
Earth’s magnetic field. Earth’s inner core is made of iron and
nickel. One theory suggests that this may produce Earth’s
magnetic field.
Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses
103
Magnetic Materials
A magnet will not attract all metal objects. For example, a
magnet will not attract aluminum foil. Only a few metals, such as
iron, cobalt, and nickel are attracted by magnets. These metals
can be made into permanent magnets. Permanent magnets keep
their magnetism even after they have been removed from a
magnetic field. Think back to what you have learned about
electrons. Recall that electrons have magnetic properties. In most
elements, the magnetic properties of the electrons cancel out. But
in iron, cobalt, and nickel, they don’t cancel out. Each atom in
these metals acts like a small magnet with its own magnetic field.
Get It? Even though the atoms in iron, cobalt, or nickel have magnetic
3. Explain why the atoms of fields, objects made from them do not always act like magnets.
magnetic materials behave For example, a nail is made from iron. If you hold an iron nail
like small magnets.
close to a refrigerator door and then let it go, it will fall to the
The magnetic properties
floor. However, you can make the nail act like a magnet
temporarily and it will stick to the door.

Magnetic domains—a model for magnetism


In magnetic materials, the magnetic field made by each atom
exerts a force on other nearby atoms. This causes the atoms to
rotate and form a magnetic domain. A magnetic domain is a
large group of atoms with their magnetic poles lined up in the
same direction. Because the atoms are lined up, a domain acts
PICTURE THIS like a magnet. A domain has a north pole and a south pole.
4. Observe Look at the
second figure. How are Random arrangement of domains An iron nail has a large
the north and south poles number of magnetic domains that act like magnets. So why
lined up? doesn’t a nail act like a magnet? The poles of the domains point
The poles line up in different directions. Since the domains do not line up, the
magnetic fields cancel each other out. Therefore, the nail does not

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education


act like a magnet. The figure below shows the magnetic domains
of a nail.

S N S S S S
NN S S S
S N SN S
N
N N
S N S S
N S N N
N N S S S N N N
S N S
N
S S N S S
S S S N
S S S S
S N N S N N
N N N N N S N S S N S S
N S
S N N S N N N S
S S S N N S N
N N N N S
N S S S N
N S S N N N S
S
S N
N NS N S N S
N
S N N S S N
S S
S S
S
S N N N N N N
N S N N S S
S N S S S S N
N N S S N
S S N
S N N N N N

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses


104

M07_002A-685545 M07_003A-685545
Lining up domains One way to make the domains line up is to
touch a bar magnet to the nail. Many of the domains will rotate
and point in the same direction because of the magnetic field of
the magnet. Now the nail acts like a magnet. The right figure on
the previous page shows domains that have lined up.
If the bar magnet is taken away, the atoms in the nail move
around and bump each other. This causes the domains to move
out of line. This is why a nail is not always a magnet.

Permanent magnets
A permanent magnet is any magnet whose domains remain
aligned without an external field.
Making permanent magnets Permanent magnets can be made
by heating magnetic material, such as iron, and letting it cool in a
strong magnetic field. The strong magnetic field causes the
magnetic domains to line up and combine to make a strong
magnetic field inside the material. This field keeps the atoms
from bumping the domains out of line. The material becomes a
permanent magnet.
How long does a magnet last? Heating a permanent magnet
causes it to lose its magnetism. Heat causes the atoms in the
magnet to move faster. This moves the domains out of line.
The permanent magnet will then lose its magnetic field.

Can a pole be isolated?


Suppose a magnet is broken into two pieces as shown in the
figure below. Is one piece a north pole and the other piece a south
pole? Remember, each atom in a magnetic material acts like a tiny
magnet. So, every magnet is made up of many smaller magnets
that are lined up. Both pieces of a broken magnet have their own
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education

north and south poles.


PICTURE THIS
N S N
S N
S 5. Infer If the two pieces of
N N
S magnet were put back
N S N S
S
N
S
N
N
S
together, what would
N
S N
S N
S S S happen to the north and
N S
S N
N
south poles at the broken
S S
edge?
N S
Will not be there any more

S N
S
N

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses


105

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