What Causes The North And South Seeking Poles On A Magnet?
To find out, we will need to use the second magnet. On each magnet let’s mark the pole pointing north with an N, and the one pointing south with an S. Now take one magnet in each hand and move the N of one magnet near the S of the other. There seems to be an invisible force that pulls them together. But reverse the position of one of the magnets, putting the N’s or the S’s together, and the force now seems to push them apart. This demonstrates an unchangeable law of magnetism, namely, opposite poles always attract, whereas like poles always repel. This is why one end of a magnet always swings to the north. The earth itself has a magnetic field, just as the bar magnet does. This field extends far out into space and converges at each of the earth’s poles. So, a magnet’s north-seeking pole will always be attracted by the North Pole of “magnet earth,” while being repelled by the South Pole.
