What is a Horseshoe Magnet?
A horseshoe magnet is a U-shaped metal object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field in invisible, but is responsible for a magnet’s notable pull on other metal objects. A horseshoe magnet is one type of permanent magnet, meaning that it stays magnetized, as opposed to an electromagnet, whose magnetic field can be started and stopped. The horseshoe magnet was originally made as an alternative to the significantly weaker bar magnet. The lifting strength of a horseshoe magnet is doubled compared to that of a bar magnet, because both of its magnetic poles point in the same direction. For industrial applications, they have largely been replaced by even stronger magnets, but are still effective for uses such as classroom demonstrations and picking up small metal objects. Horseshoe and U-shaped magnets come in every size and lifting strength, at prices that are equally varied. Properly kept, they can hold their magnetism for decades. They are common enough that a red U-shaped ma
