What is a magnet? Why there are only a few metals that are attracted to magnets?
In: Physics
Magnets are all objects that can produce magnetic fields. Some can do so permanently (so we call them permanent magnets) and some when induced by electric currents (electromagnets). Magnetic fields arise because the electrons in the material of many atoms are arranged in the similar way, so the whole object will have a distinct polarity (I.e. more negative /positive charges in one direction than another). They will attract some materials (mostly metals) because in those materials there’s an abundance of electric charges that are relatively free to move (in many metals electrons sort of hang around), so they’ll be attracted to the opposite charges in a magnet.
Latest Answers