Why is it magnets stick together?

Question

I know the whole thing about + and - forces, but I still cannot see the casual link between them. What is it that pulls the two magnets together? Can anybody explain to me why this is?

Answer 1

It has to do with how the electrons are arranged around the iron atoms.

What happens is you get all of the iron atoms in the magnet arranged in the same way electronically - all of them have their electrons bundled over to the right of each atom, say. This makes the left side the + side and the right side the - pole of the magnet.

So when you bring another magnet in close proximity to the first, two things can happen:

The iron in the second magnet is arranged so that you have the + side at the right. This brings to + poles together, and they are repulsed from one another by electromagnetic forces. Remember, like opposes like, so when you have positive approaching positive, you get repulsion.

Or,
The second magnet can be aligned so that its electrons are distributed in the same way as the first - electrons on the right, so - on the right.

In this case, the negative pole, created by electrons on the right, will be attracted to the positive pole of the first magnet. Opposites attract, and all that.

Answer 2

You might turn the magnet pair on its side so that the surface common to both magnets is vertical. Then place a thin sharp edge where the two magnet surfaces meet and try to tap it into place so it prys the stuck magnets apart a bit. Another way to do this is within the jaws of a bench vise. Use the jaws of the vise to drive a thin blade into where the magnets meet. Then perhaps you can work a small screwdriver into that space and gain a little more separation. Be careful - if something slips out you could get your fingers pinched.

Answer 3

In nature, all the physical and chemical reactions tend to go from a state of higher free energy to a state of lower free energy. and when two magnets are placed in such an orientation that the north pole of one faces the south pole of the other, the magnetic field circuit gets completed at a shorter path than the field returning from the north pole to the south pole through the air along the length of the magnet. Hence the force of attraction tends to lower the free energy of the system and is favored.

When a north pole faces another north pole, repulsion takes place because the lines of force don't complete the circuit.

Answer 4

Magnetism, ultimately, is due to the motion of electric charge. For a macroscopic object, like a wire loop, an electric current flowing through it has a magnetic moment. Far from the loop there is a magnetic field proportional in strength to its magnetic moment.

For a microscopic object, the physical picture is more complex. An electron within an atom can have orbital angular momentum and a magnetic moment proportional to that orbital angular momentum; the electron also has intrinsic angular momentum, or spin, and a magnetic moment proportional to that spin angular momentum. The orbital and spin angular momentum of an electron are comparable in magnitude, as are their magnetic moments. Far from the electron there is a magnetic field proportional in strength to its magnetic moment.

In addition, within the atomic nucleus are both neutrons and protons, and these too have orbital and spin angular momentum, and associated magnetic moments. However, the nuclear magnetic moment typically is much smaller than the electron magnetic moment, because although the magnetic moment is proportional to its angular momentum (comparable to that of the electron) it is also inversely proportional to its mass. Nevertheless, it is the nucleus's relatively small nuclear magnetic moment that is responsible for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which is the basis for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Although most atoms and molecules have a net magnetic moment at temperatures well below room temperature, at room temperature they typically have no net magnetic moment. However, they can often be magnetized. If the orbital magnetic properties dominate, the response typically will be diamagnetic; if the intrinsic magnetic properties dominate, the response typically will be paramagnetic.

Solids are collections of atoms and molecules. At room temperature most solids are either diamagnetic or paramagnetic.

Although for many purposes it is convenient to think of a magnet as having magnetic poles, it must be remembered that no isolated magnetic pole has ever been observed. As indicated above, the proper description is ultimately one due to electrical currents. For a magnet, these currents should be thought of as circulating about its atoms, and flowing without any electrical resistance. This physical picture is due to André-Marie Ampère, and these atomic currents are known as Amperian currents. For a uniformly magnetized bar magnet in the shape of a cylinder, the net effect of the atomic currents is to make the magnet behave as if there is a sheet of current flowing around the cylinder, with local flow direction normal to the cylinder axis. A right-hand-rule due to Ampère tells us how the currents flow, for a given magnetic moment. Align the thumb of your right hand along the magnetic moment, and with that hand grasp the cylinder. Your fingers will then point along the direction of current flow.

Answer 5

Its a phenomenon caused by magnetic flux ... think of it as an invisible fluid that leaves the north "pole" and has to travel to the south "pole" when you put a south pole nearby the fluid jumps at the chance to travel there.

Just a note, when i say "nearby" it can actually be an infinite distance away, its just the attraction becomes unmeasurable

Answer 6

the attraction is due to the magnetic field btw each magnet
like pole attract opposite poles repel maybe due the the electron arrangement in the magnetised iron or steel

Answer 7

the polarity of the ends and the fact that most things need to be electro-neutral...
imagine a see saw, once the 2 sides balance, it's neutral!! same for magnets

Answer 8

only magnets of opposite polarity with stick together, magets of the same polarity will repel and push away from each other, hence the expression "opposites attract"

Answer 9

magnet stick together because of the uneven distribution of protons and mobile electrons.

Answer 10

I'm guessing magnetism.