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Magnets
By: David Garcia
What do electric charges have in
common with magnetic poles?
•
What electric charges and magnetic
poles have in common is that Magnetic
poles and electric charges each have a
positive and a negative charge.
What is a major difference between
electric charges and magnetic poles?
•
The difference between them is that
magnetic poles do not exist without both
north and south poles together, whereas
electric charges, such as plus and minus,
can exist alone.
What is a magnetic field, and what
is its source?
•
A magnetic field is a function of space
which corresponds to magnetic forces
exerted on charged particles in motion.
The source of magnetic fields is charged
particles in motion either within
electromagnets or in the atoms of
permanent magnets.
Every spinning electron is a tiny magnet. Since all
atoms have spinning electrons, why are all atoms
not tiny magnets?
•
All atoms are not tiny magnets because
electrons are spinning but their orbits go
in all different directions depending on
the element and those charges cancel
each other out.
What is so special about iron that makes
each iron atom a tiny magnet?
•
Iron that makes each iron atom a tiny
magnet is special because it's the
structure of the free electrons in the outer
shell of the atom.
What is magnetic domain?
•
A magnetic domain is region in which the
magnetic fields of atoms are grouped
together and aligned.
How can a piece of iron (paperclip for example)
be induced into becoming a magnet?
•
A piece of iron can be induced into
becoming a magnet by being an atom of
iron or any ferromagnetic material.
Why will dropping or heating a
magnet weaken it?
•
Dropping or heating a magnet will not
weaken it because the domains will stay
in alignment.
Surrounding a current-carrying wire,
what is the shape of the magnetic field?
•
The shape of the magnetic field created
by current flow in a wire will be circular
around the wire. The magnetic lines of
force "surround" or "wrap around" the
wire.
If a current carrying wire is bent into a loop, why is
the magnetic field stronger inside the loop than
outside?
•
If a current-carrying wire is bent into a
loop, the magnetic field is stronger inside
the loop than outside because the
magnetic field lines become bunched
inside the loop.
What role does Earth's magnetic field
play in cosmic ray bombardment?
•
The role that the Earths magnetic field
plays in cosmic ray bombardment is the
earth’s magnetic field protects us from
the cosmic ray.
According to most geophysicists, what is the
probable cause of the Earth's magnetic field?
•
The probable cause of the earth’s
magnetic field is earth's core is an iron
bar through a magnetic field induces an
electric current. I think that since the
inner core is solid and is moving through
space there might be "electric currents"
that induce a magnetic field.
What are magnetic pole reversals, and what evidence is
there that the Earth's magnetic field has undergone pole
reversals throughout history?
•
Magnetic pole reversals are occasionally the
magnetic field switches polarity, the north and
south magnetic poles reverse, and the field
settles down in the opposite state. The
evidence that the earth’s magnetic field has
undergone pole reversals throughout history is
it has been recorded in the "frozen"
ferromagnetic minerals of solidified
sedimentary deposits or cooled volcanic flows
on land.