why compases point towards the magnetic north, not the nearest MRI

Question

I remember reading that an MRI’s magnetic field is more powerful than the earth’s, so shouldn’t my compas’ needle be more attracted by MRIs rather than the magnetic north, and therefore point towards it?

In: 0

Answer 1

a larger magnet has a larger magnetic field

eg the distance between the Earth’s north pole and south pole is a lot larger than the distance between the MRI’s north and south pole

the MRI is only stronger because it’s trying to influence a smaller area than the Earth, it’s more concentrated but not a more powerful magnet