Question

Are magnets man made?

Answer 1

Hint: Magnets, in simple terms, can be defined as the material which can produce a magnetic field. They have two poles called the north pole and south pole. All of the magnets have the tendency to attract the opposite poles and repel the same pole.

Complete step by step solution:
Magnets can be man made as well as naturally produced. Basically, the man made magnets are produced in labs by using certain alloys and are processed to align the charges inside them, whereas naturally produced magnets are found inside the earth and are rich in magnetite material.

Magnets can be of three types:
(a) Permanent magnets:They are those magnets that do not lose their magnetic property even if the magnetic field is removed. For example, ceramic or ferrite, alnico, samarium cobalt etc.

(b) Temporary magnets:They are those types of magnets that can be magnetized only in the presence of a magnetic field such as, iron nails, paper clips etc.

(c) Electromagnets:It is made up of a coil that is wrapped around a metal core that is made up of iron and current is passed through it. The strength of the magnetic field of the electromagnet depends upon the strength of the electric current flowing through the system.

Lodestone which is naturally magnetized and a part of magnetite and also attracts iron material which acts as a magnet.

Hence, we can say that magnets can be man made as well as natural.

Note:In order for a material to be considered a magnet, it should exhibit certain properties such as:
1) When a magnet is dipped in the iron fillings, we will observe that the maximum amount of iron filings will be attracted towards the end of the magnets. This proves that the attraction is maximum towards the end of the magnets, which are known as the ‘poles’ of the magnets.
2) The above-mentioned poles will always be present in pairs, and no single pole can appear in a magnet.
3) Similar poles repel each other whereas different poles attract each other.
4) A magnet, when suspended freely in the air, will always point in the geographical north-south direction. The end that points towards the north direction is called the north pole and the end which points at south is called the south pole.
5) The strength of the magnetic field will increase with decrease in the distance that is present between the two magnets.