Magnetism & You

The Magnetic Earth

Ferro, Para and Diamagnetism.
The Aurora Borealis.
Magnetic levitation.
The Suns magnetic field.
Solar Flares & Communication.

Consider The Following: (Discuss your responses with you partner)
The Magnetic Earth
The Earth's magnetic field reaches
36,000 miles into space. It is
surrounded in a region called the
magnetosphere. The magnetosphere
prevents most of the particles from
the sun, carried in solar wind, from
hitting the Earth.
Some particles from the solar wind can
enter the magnetosphere. The
particles that enter travel toward the
Earth and create auroras.
The Sun and other planets have magnetospheres, but the Earth has the
strongest one of all the terrestrial planets. There is evidence of the
Earth's north and south magnetic poles reversing at irregular intervals of
hundreds of thousands of years.

Is the Earths North geographic pole the same as the North magnetic pole?
Ferromagnetism
Ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, are
strongly attracted to both poles of a
magnet. In atoms of iron, cobalt, and nickel,
electrons in one atom will align with
electrons in neighboring atoms, making
regions called domains, with very strong
magnetization. These materials are
ferromagnetic, and are strongly attracted
to magnetic poles.
While grazing, cows eat everything from grass and dirt to nails,
staples and bits of bailing wire. This ferromagnetic metal tends to
lodge in the honeycombed walls of the reticulum, threatening the
surrounding vital organs and causing irritation and inflammation.
Cow magnets help prevent this irritation by attracting stray metal
from the folds and crevices of the reticulum. One magnet works for
the life of the cow!
Continue
Ferromagnetism
Ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, are
strongly attracted to both poles of a
magnet. In atoms of iron, cobalt, and nickel,
electrons in one atom will align with
electrons in neighboring atoms, making
regions called domains, with very strong
magnetization. These materials are
ferromagnetic, and are strongly attracted
to magnetic poles.
While grazing, cows eat everything from grass and dirt to nails,
staples and bits of bailing wire. This ferromagnetic metal tends to
lodge in the honeycombed walls of the reticulum, threatening the
surrounding vital organs and causing irritation and inflammation.
Cow magnets help prevent this irritation by attracting stray metal
from the folds and crevices of the reticulum. One magnet works for
the life of the cow!
Continue
Paramagnetic materials, such as
aluminum, are weakly attracted to
both poles of a magnet.
Atoms and molecules that have
single, unpaired electrons are
paramagnetic. Electrons in these
materials orient in a magnetic
field so that they will be weakly
attracted to magnetic poles.
Hydrogen, lithium, and liquid
oxygen are examples of
paramagnetic substances.

Paramagnetism
Continue
The vector sum of magnetic domains
has a magnitude much smaller than
ferromagnetic materials.

Diamagnetic materials are weakly
repelled by both poles of a magnet.
Because diamagnetic forces are
thousands of times weaker than
ferromagnetic forces,
superconducting electromagnets are
needed to levitate this strawberry.
Water, a main component of
strawberries, is diamagnetic.

Every electron is a tiny magnet as well as the current electrons
create. Electrons are charges that spin about a central axis and
maintain motion within an atoms energy levels .
This strawberry is using diamagnetism to levitate in a magnetic field
created by a super conducting coil with a huge current.
Diamagnetism
Continue
Magnetic levitation
The frog levitates in a magnetic
field generated by a series of
super conducting coils of wire.
The electromagnet produces a
field of about 10 Tesla.
Compared to the strength of
the Earths magnetic field, this
electromagnet is almost 2
million times stronger.
The levitating frog is another example of diamagnetism.
Every atom in the frogs body feels an attractive force due to
gravity and a repulsive force due to magnetism. The net force is
zero and the frog levitates as though there are no forces acting
on it.
Magnetic levitation continued
Is this drop of water
ferromagnetic,
diamagnetic or
paramagnetic?
What creates the
enormous magnetic
field acting on the
drop?
The Suns Magnetic Field
This image captures a sweeping
prominence -- Prominences are
huge clouds of relatively cool
dense plasma suspended in the
Sun's extremely hot, thin
corona.
Spectral emission lines indicate
the upper chromo spheres
temperature = 60,000 Kelvins.
Every feature in the image
traces magnetic field structure.
The hottest areas appear almost
white, while the darker green areas indicate cooler
temperatures.
Solar Flares and Communication
This image of the solar corona
in 1996 shows an inner
streamer belt along the Sun's
equator. Here low latitude
solar winds originate and are
accelerated outward. Near the
polar regions plumes are visible
racing to the edge of the field
of view. The field of view of
this coronagraph encompasses
8.4 million kilometers (5.25
million miles) of the inner
Helios sphere.
Solar storms can increase the intensity of the solar wind and damage
Earth orbiting communication satellites.
Yikes!
This Sumo
wrestler is
levitating in a
magnetic field.
Is it magic or
magnetic?

Consider The Following
Since every iron atom is a tiny magnet, why arent all iron
materials themselves permanent magnets?

Why will a magnet attract an ordinary nail or paperclip, but not a
wooden pencil?

The North pole of a compass is attracted to the north pole of the
Earth, yet like poles repel. How can you resolve this apparent
dilemma?

When iron naval ships are built, the location of the shipyard and
the orientation of the ship while in the shipyard are recorded on a
brass plaque permanently fixed to the ship. Why?