Laws of Magnetism

Properties of Magnets

A magnet is an object that produces a magnetic field and can attract magnetic materials like iron, cobalt, and nickel. These are the properties of a magnet:

• Two poles: Every magnet has a north and a south pole located at its ends. There is no isolated magnetic pole.
• Like poles repel: North–north or south–south poles push away from each other.
• Unlike poles attract: North–south poles pull toward each other.

• Fields stronger at poles: The magnetic field is strongest near the poles and weaker farther away.
• Field vector addition: Magnetic field vectors can add up to obtain a new vector that is equal to the sum of the two or more vectors.
• Alignment with Earth: If freely suspended, a magnet aligns with the Earth's magnetic field, pointing north–south.
• Attraction of magnetic materials: Magnets attract ferromagnetic materials (iron, cobalt, nickel, steel), but do not affect non‑magnetic materials like plastic or wood.

Note: Only magnets can repel one another—this is the only sure way to identify a magnet!