How many poles does a magnet have

The compass method is one way to tell what pole is which, but you can feel free to contact us if you have questions about our magnet products or identifying polarity.

Photo by Aney. Business Customers Our Blog Videos. What are Magnetic Poles The poles are the points at which the lines of magnetic flux emit and connect. How to Identify the North and South Poles of a Magnet You can purchase some magnets with the north and south poles indicated on them. Here is one method: Using a Compass to Identify Magnet North Pole Take a magnetic compass and place it close to but not touching your magnet.

Watch carefully at where the compass needle points. The point that normally points to the north pole of Earth should point to one end of the magnet. That end is actually the South pole of the magnet. Once the magnet stops spinning it takes up a position such that one end points roughly towards the Earth's North Pole and the other towards the South Pole.

Set the magnet spinning again and allow it to settle down. The same outcome results, the magnet and any other magnet aligns itself along the north—south direction.

Good use of this property of magnets is made in compasses, where the compass needle is simply a freely suspended bar magnet. If you are caught out on the moors when a mist descends, it is still possible to find your way by using a compass which always points along the north—south line. The end of the compass which points towards the north is called the north-seeking pole or simply the north pole. The end of the compass which points towards the south is called the south-seeking pole or simply the south pole.

In fact the compass does not point directly towards the geographical North Pole, but aligns with what is called the magnetic north. We shall return to this point a little later in discussing the Earth's magnetism. Do all magnets have two poles? Look at these examples, which cover those you are most likely to come across.

So in the lab you'll never get just one pole. But the universe is a much larger place — what about there?

Karen: But what happens if you cut a magnet in half? Do you get a north pole and a south pole? This works because the needle in a compass is actually a magnet! Another way to tell which is north and which is south is by dangling your magnet from a string. Well bar magnets have two poles, so their magnetic fields are called dipole which means—you guessed it— two poles! But some magnets have more than two poles. In fact, some have four, or six, or even eight!

Some celestial objects, including stars and planets, have magnetic fields, and some of them have more than two poles! But the magnetic fields around planets like Uranus and Neptune have multiple magnetic fields. Cool, right? Tags: definition of magnetic pole , dipole , Dowling Magnets , magnetic field , magnetic polarity , magnetic poles , magnetic poll , magnetic polls , magnets , north pole , poles of a magnet , south pole , what are magnetic poles.

In your article, you said: 3 Dangle the magnet from the string and then from a ruler.