Affect Magnets

A magnet has two ends called poles. A magnet has two poles, one end of the pole is called the north seeking pole. The other side of the pole is called the south seeking pole.  

All around the poles of a magnet is a space where the force of the magnet can act. This is called the magnetic field. You can't see it, but if you put two magnets very close together, you will feel it.

In this picture, you can see several magnets hanging one from another.

Picture by Chris and Chelsea

Did you ever wonder how a compass works? It works because of magnets! At the top of the earth you will find the magnetic north pole. Under the ice and water at this pole is a large natural magnet. Compasses are magnetized. Because of this, they will always point to the largest magnet they can find, which is the magnetic north pole. That's why a compass always points north, unless there is a strong magnet very close to the compass.

The whole earth is a magnet because it has a lot of iron. The earth has a north pole and a south pole, too. We use compasses to tell us directions. A compass needle will always point toward the north pole.

Compass picture by Chris and Chelsea

Watch the little movie we made, in which we move a magnet around a compass. You can see the compass needle move toward the magnet.

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