5 Interesting Facts About Magnets

Any object with a magnetic field is known as a magnet. A magnet naturally attracts ferromagnetic materials such as iron and cobalt. Refrigerator magnets and compass are the two most visible uses of magnets in our day to day life. However, they are also used in microphones, speakers, headphones, ATM and debit cards, electric guitars, computer hard disks, TVs, monitors, and other objects that we use regularly. For children, a magnet is perhaps the closest they ever come across what seems like magic in real life. Magnets are not only useful, they are also interesting. The following are five of the more interesting facts about magnets:

1. Permanent magnets have been used and studied since ancient times. The ancient Greeks, Indians and Chinese knew about the magnetic properties of the naturally occurring mineral we know as lodestone. Lodestone is magnetised iron ore, and acts as a permanent magnet. Thales (624 BC – c. 546 BC), who lived centuries before Aristotle and was called by the latter as the “first true philosopher”, studied the magnetic properties of lodestone. The ancient Chinese knew about the magnetic properties of naturally occurring permanent magnets as early as 3rd century B.C. They were also the first to use a magnetized compass.


2. The name magnet is derived from Magnesia, which is a region in Greece. Magnesia was the primary source of lodestone for ancient Greeks, so the ancient Greeks started calling their lodestone as magnet, which means “stone from Magnesia”. The word was borrowed by modern European languages such as English and German, with the result that most modern European languages use the same word for magnet – magnet.

3. Permanent magnets can be easily demagnetized by heating them above a temperature known as its Curie temperature. A Curie temperature for a ferromagnetic material is the temperature above which it loses its magnetic field. For Iron, the Curie temperature is 770 degree Celsius.

4. The Earth itself has a permanent magnetic field, and is the largest permanent magnet we know. Earth’s magnetic field is caused by electric currents in the molten iron present in Earth’s outer core. The outer core is a liquid layer 2,266 km thick and starts 2,890 km below the surface of the Earth. When a compass points towards north, it does so because its magnetic head is attracted by Earth’s magnetic north pole.


5. The most widespread type of magnet used in the present day is the electromagnet. In an electromagnet, the magnetic field is produced by the flow of electric current in it. Electromagnets are an important part of electrical devices such as hard disks, motors, generators, and MRI machines.


Magnets are one of the most interesting objects we come across in our daily lives. Though they have perplexed humans from the ancient times, our current understanding of the phenomenon of magnetism has rewarded us with countless useful devices that enrich our lives.