Question

How are the magnets kept safely? What is the role of keepers in storing the magnets?

Answer 1

Hint:A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. When not in use, these magnets still keep attracting pieces of metals towards it. Also, it keeps interacting with other magnetic fields around it, which poses a certain risk while performing certain experiments.

Complete answer:
Magnets are kept safely with the help of magnet keepers.Magnetic keepers are pieces of soft iron which are placed across opposite poles of a magnet. The keepers become induced magnets, which in turn neutralises the poles of the actual magnet. Thus, they help to preserve the strength of a permanent magnet by completing the magnetic circuit.

Here in the image, we can see rectangular pieces of soft metal attached at the end of two bar magnets. The bar magnets are placed poles opposite to each other with a cardboard in between. These soft iron pieces get induced with the opposite magnetic charge and complete the magnetic circuit.

In the case of a horse-shoe magnet, a single piece of soft iron completes the magnetic circuit and prevents the magnet from getting demagnetized. Keepers also prevent external metals from being attracted to the magnet.

Note:A magnet is composed of very small sized magnetic domains, arranged in an orderly manner. Sometimes, when a magnet comes in contact with a magnetic field, these domains align themselves in an orderly manner. When this happens, a magnet loses its magnetic properties.