8 Weird and Fun Facts About Magnets
Magnets are everywhere - holding notes on your fridge, powering high-tech devices, keeping your food pure, helping to manufacture medicines. Magnets are hardworking, versatile and largely invisible, but they’re also full of surprises! Here are eight weird and fun facts about magnets that you probably didn’t know:
1. Magnets Can Lose Their Power
Did you know that magnets can lose their magnetic properties if they get too hot? This phenomenon is called the Curie Point, named after physicist Pierre Curie. When exposed to high temperatures, the alignment of magnetic domains gets disrupted, causing the magnet to lose its strength. So, keep your fridge magnets away from your oven, off the dashboard of your car and away from extreme heat.
2. Earth Is a Giant Magnet
The Earth itself is a massive magnet, thanks to its molten iron core. The magnetic field it generates is what makes compasses work. However, Earth’s magnetic poles aren’t fixed—they wander and even flip every few hundred thousand years. Just imagine – thousands of years in the future, a compass could be pointing south instead of north!
3. Magnets Exist in Space
Magnets aren’t just an Earth-bound phenomenon. Neutron stars, specifically magnetars, have magnetic fields billions of times stronger than any magnet we can create on Earth. These cosmic magnets are so powerful they could erase data from hard drives from hundreds of thousands of miles away.
4. Some Animals Use Magnetic Navigation
Certain animals, like pigeons, sea turtles and even some bacteria, have a built-in ‘magnetic compass’. They can sense Earth’s magnetic field and use it to navigate during migration or hunting. Scientists believe they have tiny magnetic particles in their bodies that help them feel magnetic fields.
5. Magnets Can Create Fireworks
When certain magnetic materials are struck or bent, they can emit sparks. This phenomenon is called magnetostrictive sparking and can occur in metals like iron and steel. It’s not a practical way to start a fire, but it’s a fascinating effect of magnetic energy at work.
6. Liquid Magnets Exist
Ferrofluids are a bizarre type of liquid magnet that reacts to magnetic fields. They consist of tiny magnetic particles suspended in a liquid. When exposed to a magnet, ferrofluids form spiky, otherworldly patterns, making them a favourite in science demonstrations and art installations.
7. Magnets Can Grow Weaker Over Time
Magnets don’t last forever! With time, shocks or exposure to opposing magnetic fields, a magnet can gradually lose its strength. This process, called magnetic decay, is slow for most household magnets, but it’s something to keep in mind for long-term use.
8. There’s a World’s Strongest Magnet
The strongest magnet ever created is housed in the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in the United States. This lab-made magnet produces a mind-boggling 45 teslas of magnetic field strength, over 900,000 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field. It’s used for advanced scientific research and is so powerful that it could easily lift a car. Don’t expect to see that demonstration however – it’s huge, and the magnetic field it emits presents an extreme logistical problem if was let loose outside the safety of the lab!
Magnets are much more than the everyday objects we see around us. They’re mysterious, versatile and connected to some of the strangest phenomena in nature and science. What else would you like to know about the magic of magnets? Let us know in the comments!
