Back Home

Magnets

           Magnets are amazing! There is so much that one person could learn about a magnet, all the way back until magnets were first discovered. There is magnetite, temporary and permanent magnets, and even the cow magnet! Even our own Earth, works like a giant magnet.
           Have you ever wondered why a magnet is magnetic, but something like a paper clip is not, even if they both have the same material iron in them? I know I have. But then I found this out: Even though they both have the material iron in them, and they both have some other special materials, inside of a paper clip, all of that material is going in opposite directions, and arranged randomly. Whereas, in a magnet, all of that material is lined up, and going in the same direction. However, a magnet does have enough power to temporarily magnetize a paper clip which is how paper clips, nails, and all of that stuff stick to a magnet. Which makes a magnet, magnetic.
          Did you know that a compass is actually magnet?! That red needle in the center is magnetized so that it always points north. (Like I said before, the Earth works kind of like a giant magnet). However, there is a Magnetic North and Geographic North, (Also known as the North Pole). Once you find out which way north is, you can pretty much automatically tell which way east, west, and south are. But the one thing that you really need to remember is that Magnetic and Geographic North are NOT in the same place at all. They are separated by at least fifteen degrees. However, no matter how far apart Magnetic North and Geographic North are, the compass will always be pointing toward Magnetic North and never toward Geographic North.
         Now, I know that magnets have many different uses,

but, who has ever heard of the cow magnet?! The cow magnet was invented because, inside a few of the pieces of straw that cows eat, there are little bits of metal. This metal is usually okay to eat if it’s swallowed with the food the cow is eating, but it can sometimes cause some problems. It can get caught in important parts of the cows stomach, or it can get caught in the cows heart. Just to make sure that this would not happen, veterinarians put a magnet in the cows throat. The magnet is big so the cow could swallow it easily, and it is heavy, so the it would travel to the bottom of the cows stomach, which sounds like a bad thing, but it is actually really good. With the magnet in the cows stomach, it could trap all of the metal that would be causing all of the problems. The magnet is really strong, so it ill make sure that all of the metal is trapped. Who knew that magnets could save lives?

So, from magnetite, to temporary and permanent magnets. From floppy disks, to the compass. From the cow magnet, to even the North and South Poles. People have used magnets to prevent themselves from getting lost, save their homework without worrying about taking a bunch of papers back and forth from school to home, and even save a few lives. Who knows what they will come out with next?