As kids most of us have played with magnets with great curiosity. When we bring close two opposite ends of magnets we can see that they attract each other but when we bring the same ends closer they repel each other. This phenomenon is used by modern technology and it has always puzzled people.
Magnetism can explain the reasons behind this strange attraction and repulsion that acts between two poles. The attraction or repulsion force that acts between two magnets or a magnet and a neutral object is called magnetism. A magnet has the power to attract other objects made of nickel, iron, steel and cobalt. It does so by the magnetic field around it.
Every magnet has two poles – North Pole and South Pole. Earth has its own magnetic field and if a magnet is hung from a point to rotate freely its one end will point towards north and the other towards south. The magnetic force is a result of the electrons that are loose and move freely inside the magnets. At one end of the magnet there is a density of negatively charge ions and at another there is a dearth of negatively charged ions. When the opposite poles are brought close they attract each other because one of the poles is negatively charged and the other pole is positively charged.
The purpose that drives the magnetic force is to make successful exchange of electrons possible and bring the poles to a neutral state. The same poles repel each other because they are both negatively or positively charged. The same poles cannot exchange electrons and become neutral. This is the same reason why magnets attract neutral objects like iron or nickel towards them. Every object ultimately wants to lose the charge and become stable and neutral.
