PHYSICS PROJECT

MAGNETS
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This
magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property
of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such
as iron, steel, nickel, cobalt, etc. and attracts or repels other magnets.
A permanent magnet is an object made from a material that
is magnetized and creates its own persistent magnetic field. An everyday
example is a refrigerator magnet used to hold notes on a refrigerator door.
Materials that can be magnetized, which are also the ones that are strongly
attracted to a magnet, are called ferromagnetic (or ferrimagnetic). These
include the elements iron, nickel and cobalt and their alloys, some alloys
of rare-earth metals, and some naturally occurring minerals such
as lodestone. 
The overall strength of a magnet is measured by its magnetic moment or,
alternatively, the total magnetic flux it produces. The local strength of
magnetism in a material is measured by its magnetization.

DISCOVERY OF MAGNETS
Ancient people learned about magnetism from lodestones (or magnetite)
which are naturally magnetized pieces of iron ore. The word magnet was
adopted in Middle English from Latin magnetum "lodestone", ultimately
from Greek μαγνῆτις [λίθος] (magnētis [lithos])[1] meaning "[stone] from
Magnesia", a place in Anatolia where lodestones were found
(today Manisa in modern-day Turkey). Lodestones, suspended so they
could turn, were the first magnetic compasses. The earliest known
surviving descriptions of magnets and their properties are from Anatolia,
India, and China around 2500 years ago. The properties of lodestones and
their affinity for iron were written of by Pliny the Elder in his
encyclopedia Naturalis Historia.
By the 12th to 13th centuries AD, magnetic compasses were used in
navigation in China, Europe, the Arab ian Peninsula and elsewhere.

USES OF MAGNETS

Toys - Magnets are found in some toys. For example, a toy train set often
has magnets that attach the carriages to each other, or you can get
building blocks that stick together with magnets too.

Compasses - In compasses, magnets are used to make sure that the

needle always points north. You can even make your own basic compass at
home using this same method. All you need is a bowl of water, a cork and a
needle. You'll see how the magnetic pull of the north pole changes the
direction of the needle.

Hospitals - In some medical processes, they use magnets. For example, in

some scans such as NMR and MRI, powerful magnets are used. An MRI
machine is a large, cylindrical scanner that uses a powerful magnet to
create images of the inside of the body. These images are used to
diagnose medical conditions.

Fridge Magnets - One of the most obvious magnet uses: fridge magnets!

They can be used to attach pictures to your fridge. Alphabet magnets can
be used to spell out words on your fridge and spell out fun messages!

Furniture and Household Appliances - Some cupboards and drawers use

magnets to keep the doors closed, as well as fridges too. There are also
some cool new designs that use magnets to appear like they are floating in
the air! There are also a few household appliances that use magnets, and
you probably have one at home! Things like microwaves, speakers,
earphones and fans all use magnets to work.

Jewellery - Some pieces of jewellery have magnetic clasps to clip the ends
together around your neck or arm. There are also magnetic earrings for
people who don't have their ears pierced.
Recycling - Magnets are also a great way to separate different metals. This
is because some of the metals will stick to the magnet and some won't.
This means they can use magnets when splitting up materials and use this
to recycle things faster!

Industrial Machinery - There are special vehicles that have strong magnets
on them, for picking up cars and scrap metal. Magnets can also be found in
the motors of machinery, as they help to keep the parts moving.

Computers - In a computer, there is a hard drive that contains a powerful

magnet. This means the data can be saved to your computer and then kept
safe for a long time too! It also means the data can be read by the
computer too. The integrated speakers also need a magnet to make sound
by vibrating.

Mag-Lev Trains - Mag-Lev trains are trains that use magnets to hover above
the ground. This is because there are huge magnets on the bottom side of
the train and on the tracks that repel each other. Because of this, these
trains can travel very fast - even up to 200mph

Properties of Magnet
Following are the basic properties of magnet:

 When a magnet is dipped in iron filings, we can observe that the iron
filings cling to the end of the magnet as the attraction is maximum at
the ends of the magnet. These ends are known as poles of the
magnets.
 Magnetic poles always exist in pairs.
 Whenever a magnet is suspended freely in mid-air, it always points
towards north-south direction. Pole pointing towards geographic
north is known as the North Pole and the pole pointing towards
geographic south is known as the South Pole.
 Like poles repel while unlike poles attract.
  The magnetic force between the two magnets is greater when the
distance between these magnets are lesser.

Characteristics of Magnet
Following are the characteristics of a magnet:

 Attractive property: This property proves that the magnetic strength

at the ends of the poles is strong.
 Directive property: This property helps to understand which pole of
the magnet is north and south by suspending the magnet in mid-air.
 Law of magnetic poles: Like poles repel while unlike poles attract.
 Pair property: When a magnet is cut into two pieces, both the pieces
will have the North Pole and the South Pole.
 Sure test of magnetization: This test is conducted to check if a given
rod is magnetized or not by checking either the attraction or the
repulsion of the iron rod and magnet.

CLASSIFICATION OF MAGNETIC MATERIALS

FERROMAGNETIC
Ferromagnetic materials have some unpaired electrons in their
atoms and therefore generate a net magnetic field, albeit a very
weak one. This is because the individual atoms or groups of atoms,
known as magnetic domains, are randomly aligned cancelling each
other out. When an external magnetic field is applied to the
ferromagnetic material the individual domains are forced into
alignment which they maintain once the external field is removed
therefore maintaining their magnetism, known as remanence. Iron,
nickel and cobalt are all ferromagnetic materials.

DIAMAGNETIC
Diamagnetic materials repel any externally applied magnetic field.
This occurs because their magnetic domains realign to oppose an
externally applied magnetic field when influenced by a magnetic
field. All materials show some diamagnetic properties, however, in
most materials the effect is extremely weak and unnoticed. All the
electrons within the atoms of diamagnetic materials are paired,
therefore they do not generate their own net magnetic field. Most
elements in the periodic table are diamagnetic.

PARAMAGNETIC
Paramagnetic materials have a small susceptibility to magnetic
fields meaning that they are slightly attracted by a magnetic field.
However, unlike ferromagnetic materials they do not maintain their
magnetic properties once the external magnetic field is removed.
Most elements are paramagnetic, however, because their attractive
force is many thousands of times weaker than ferromagnetic
material they are also generally considered as ‘non-magnetic’.

TYPES OF MAGNETS
 PERMANENT MAGNETS TEMPORARY ELECTROMAGNETS
MAGNETS

What are temporary magnets?

Temporary magnets can be magnetised in the presence of a magnetic
field. When the magnetic field is removed, these materials lose their
magnetic property. Iron nails and paper-clips are examples of the
temporary magnet.

What are permanent magnets?

Permanent magnets are those magnets that are commonly used. They are
known as permanent magnets because they do not lose their magnetic
property once they are magnetised.

What are electromagnets?

Electromagnets consist of a coil of wire wrapped around the metal core
made from iron. When this material is exposed to an electric current, the
magnetic field is generated making the material behave like a magnet. The
strength of the magnetic field can be controlled by controlling the electric
current.

MAGNETIC FIELD
A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on
moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A
moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its
own velocity and to the magnetic field. A permanent magnet's magnetic
field pulls on ferromagnetic materials such as iron, and attracts or repels
other magnets. In addition, a magnetic field that varies with location will
exert a force on a range of non-magnetic materials by affecting the motion
of their outer atomic electrons. Magnetic fields surround magnetized
materials, and are created by electric currents such as those used
in electromagnets, and by electric fields varying in time. Since both strength
and direction of a magnetic field may vary with location, it is described
mathematically by a function assigning a vector to each point of space,
called a vector field.
Magnetic fields are produced by moving electric charges and the
intrinsic magnetic moments of elementary particles associated with a
fundamental quantum property, their spin. Magnetic fields and electric
fields are interrelated and are both components of the electromagnetic
force, one of the four fundamental forces of nature.
Magnetic fields are used throughout modern technology, particularly
in electrical engineering and electromechanics. Rotating magnetic fields
are used in both electric motors and generators. The interaction of
magnetic fields in electric devices such as transformers is conceptualized
and investigated as magnetic circuits. Magnetic forces give information
about the charge carriers in a material through the Hall effect.
The Earth produces its own magnetic field, which shields the Earth's ozone
layer from the solar wind and is important in navigation using a compass.
MAGNETIC FIELD LINES
Magnetic field lines are imaginary along which north magnetic pole would
move. It is a visual tool used to represent magnetic fields. They describe
the direction of the magnetic force on a north monopole at a any given
point.
The density of the lines indicates the magnitude of the field. Taking an
instance, the magnetic field is stronger and crowded near the poles of a
magnet. As we move away from the poles, it is weak, and the lines become
less dense.

ACTIVITY TO SEE MAGNETIC FIELD LINES USING BAR MAGNET

 Take a bar magnet and hundred of iron fillings
 Put the bar magnet on the table and spread the iron fillings near the
magnet
 The iron fillings are able to align themselves in a different curved
lines
 These curved lines called magnetic field lines.

ACTIVITY TO SEE MAGNETIC FIELD LINE LINES USING BAR

MAGNET AND MAGNETIC COMPASS
 Let’s take bar magnet and compass
 Put the compass near the north pole of bar magnet
 Mark a dot where the compass needle points, mark point as B
 Now put the other end of compass near point B
 Mark point where the compass needle points as point C
 Similarly, keep plotting until you the reach the south pole
 Now, join the points
The line formed is magnetic field line.
ACTIVITY TO SEE MAGNETIC FIELD LINES AROUND CURRENT
CARRYING STRAIGHT WIRE
 Make electric circuit using straight copper wire
 Bring iron fillings near it and switch on the circuit
 The iron fillings arrange themselves in form of the concentric circles
around copper wire
 This shows that magnetic field lines produced by straight wire
(conductor) is in the form of concentric circles

ACTIVITY TO SEE MAGNETIC FILED LINES DUE TO CURRENT IN

SOLENOID
Solenoid – It is a coil containing many circular turns
These wires are wrapped closely in the shape of a cylinder.
If we pass the current through the circuit, the magnetic field shown will be
same as shown by a bar magnet.