A Wonderleaf question
How do magnets work?
a real page from the book
Magnets work because many tiny magnetic directions inside certain materials line up together. When enough of them point the same way, the object makes a magnetic field that can pull some metals closer or push another magnet away, depending on which poles are facing.
Iron is especially good at this because groups of atoms can keep their magnetic directions organized in regions called domains. A paperclip near a magnet can briefly become magnet-like too, which is why a whole chain of paperclips can hang from one magnet.
Wonder words
- magnet
- field
- pole
- domain
Try it out
Test which household objects a fridge magnet sticks to, then sort them into yes, no, and almost piles.
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