bar magnet
Quick Summary
A bar magnet is a magnet shaped like a bar with poles at its ends. These poles are regions where the magnetic field is strongest. A bar magnet, like a compass needle, will orient itself in the Earth's magnetic field, with one pole pointing north and the other south. Like poles repel each other, while unlike poles attract. If a magnet is broken, each piece becomes a new magnet with its own north and south poles. Magnetic fields are generated by moving electric charges, such as electric currents or the motion of electrons within atoms. Materials like iron can become magnetized when placed in a strong magnetic field, causing their internal magnetic domains to align. This alignment can be disrupted by heating the material above its Curie temperature, causing it to lose its magnetism.1234
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