White, age 13, of Vic orias B. C.,

John What makes a magnet work?

Magnes was a shepherd of ancient Crete, So far as we know! he was the‑first person to be astonished by a magnet, He came across some dull dark stones that stuck to the end of the iron tip of his shepherd’s crook, These stones were natural magnets. They were bits of‑iron magnetized when they came into contact with some violent activity in the ground, Our work and play magnets are named in honor of Magness

We cannot see this magic that gives a magnet its strange forces We cannot tell by looking whether this or that bar of iron is magnetized. But we can tell by the force given off by the magnet„ A magnet will pick up pins and strips of iron and steel, Hung from a string# it will swing around to point north and south:. Its south seeking ends, or pole, will will jerk away from the south seeking pole of another magnet, Its south seeking pole will cling to the north seeking pole of another magnet,

Though invisible, we have a good idea what causes this magnetic force. The bar of iron is made of tiny atoms, And each tiny atom is a magnet in its own right, It has a north seeking pole and a south seeking pole, however, in an ordinary bar of irons the atom magnets are arranged this way and that. They are not lined up with their north and south poles in any special direction, Hence, their total magnetic power is cancelled out though there is plenty of magnetism in the atoms of the iron bar.

Now in a magnetized iron bar the atoms, or most of them,, are arranged with their north seeking poles all facing in the same direction. The magnetism of the atoms is organized into teamwork.  All the small particles pull in the same direction. The combined pull is great enough to pull beyond the limits of the solid iron, It creates a magnetic field in which things happen,

Bits of steel arid iron get pulled through that field and stick to the magnet. If the magnet bar is hung on a strings its north seeking pole will swing around to point to the earth’s magnetic north for the earth itself is the itself is the biggest magnet of them all, Given a chances every little magnet must obey it.  You can see how this theory of magnetism works by making and unmaking a magnet for yourselfi You will need a compass., a hammer and a bar of plain iron, Point the iron bar towards the north and whack it a few times with the hammer, The jolt will jar the little atoms and the pull of the earth’s magnetism will line them up, You will have a magnet!

Now let’s break up this orderly arrangement of magnetic at arms. Place your magnet facing east and west and whack it again, The jolt jostles the iron atoms but there was now no north‑south pull from the earth to line them up. They will come to rest all halter skelter again. Their magnetism will pull this way and that and cancel itself out.  You will be left with a bar of ordinary iron in place of your magic magnet