What force causes two magnets to attract or repel?

Magnetic force due to non-uniform magnetic field Magnets are drawn along the magnetic field gradient. The simplest example of this is the attraction of opposite poles of two magnets. Every magnet produces a magnetic field that is stronger near its poles.

How do you get magnets to repel?

Magnets don’t always stick together. If you hold two magnets the wrong way around, they push apart – they repel! In other words, if you hold two magnets together so that like-poles are close together (two norths OR two souths), they repel.

What gets attracted to a magnet?

Magnets are only attracted to special metals. Iron, cobalt and nickel are magnetic. Metals that have iron in them attract magnets well.

Is magnet a contact force?

Magnetism. Magnetism is a non-contact force. For example, a magnetic force can be acting on a paper clip when a magnet is nearby but not actually touching.

What happens when magnets attract each other?

When two magnets are brought together, the opposite poles will attract one another, but the like poles will repel one another. This is similar to electric charges. The earth is like a giant magnet, but unlike two free hanging magnets, the north pole of a magnet is attracted to the north pole of the earth.

What is the ability of a material to be attracted by a magnet and to act as a magnet?

Magnetism is the ability of a material to be attracted by a magnet and to act as a magnet. Magnetism is due to the movement of electrons within atoms of matter. When electrons spin around the nucleus of an atom, it causes the atom to become a tiny magnet, with north and south poles and a magnetic field.

What determines whether two magnets will be influenced by attractive or repulsive magnetic forces?

It is repulsive if the currents are in opposite directions. Two circular current loops, located one above the other and with their planes parallel, will attract if the currents are in the same directions and will repel if the currents are in opposite directions.

Why are metals attracted to magnets?

In metals there are two types of electrons: bound electrons and free electrons. The free electrons are free to move between atoms, and are the cause of conductivity in metals. The bound electrons are stuck to the individual atoms. So, some metals are attracted to magnets because they are full of tinier magnets.

Does magnet attract steel?

Metals that attract to magnets Metals that naturally attract to magnets are known as ferromagnetic metals; these magnets will firmly stick to these metals. For example, iron, cobalt, steel, nickel, manganese, gadolinium, and lodestone are all ferromagnetic metals.