Mysterious Magnets
A long time ago, people discovered that some rocks were able to magically pull other rocks or pieces of metal towards them. When tied up to a string and allowed to hang, it was also discovered that the rocks would always choose to point in the same direction. These rocks are what we now know as magnets.
Today there are many different magnet shapes, and they no longer come in the form of a rock you can pick out from your garden. They are still able to attract metals and other magnets through the strange magnetic force. For a quick and easy science project, see how many hanging paper clips you can pick up with one magnet. How many paper clips can you pick up with a bigger magnet?
Every magnet has two ends called poles, a north and south pole. If you cut a magnet in half, a north and south pole will form once again. There is no such thing is a magnet with just one pole. This is because the magnet's energy has to pass through the north end and into the south end. You will always need a north and south. Here's another easy science project. Take two magnets and touch one magnet's north pole to the other magnet's south pole. What happens? Next touch one magnet's north pole to the other magnet's south pole. What happens? Can you touch a south pole to another south pole?
Magnets either attract an object or get the object to stick to the magnet, or they repel an object, force the object to move away from the magnet. Magnetic force, the invisible power that each magnet possesses can now be used for many different things based on whether or not they will attract or repel objects. They can even move objects!
Try this easy science project, get a an old penny, one made of copper, or a nickel. Place the coin on top of a standard sized folder and ask someone to hold the folder. Next, take your magnet and place it under the folder and move the magnet around underneath. What happens to the coin?
If you've done both the coin and paper clip tests, you will know that magnets are very strong. Walk around your house to see what else a magnet will attract. You may wonder, does anything affect the strength of a magnet? The answer is yes, some things like heat, hammering or placing a magnet in an opposing magnetic field can affect its strength. In the easy science project on magnets under the projects section, you will be able to test the strength of a magnet!
