How do magnets work?

Magnets work because tiny magnetic directions inside certain materials line up instead of pointing randomly. Together they make a magnetic field, an invisible push-and-pull area around the magnet. That field can pull some metals close or push another magnet away.

A paperclip can briefly behave like a magnet when it sits near one. The field nudges many of its tiny inner directions into order, so the clip joins the pull. Break a magnet apart, and each piece still has both kinds of pole.