The discussion centers around the possibility of a horseshoe magnet exhibiting only one magnetic pole, specifically through the configuration of current flowing in a conductor wound around a horseshoe-shaped iron core. Participants explore the implications of this setup on magnetic field behavior and domain alignment.
Participants express differing views on the feasibility of creating a horseshoe magnet with only one pole, with no consensus reached on the implications of the proposed configurations.
Participants reference concepts such as magnetic monopoles, series connections of coils, and the behavior of magnetic field lines, but the discussion does not resolve the underlying assumptions or complexities of these ideas.
As mfb pointed out, you are connecting the two coils in series opposition. This way, you are reducing the net magnetic field inside the magnet by effectively reducing the inductance of the coil (look up series-aiding and series-opposing coil connections).Fiona Rozario said:Is it possible for a horseshoe magnet to have only one pole? For example, if i take a horseshoe shaped iron core and wind a conductor such that both the ends of the horseshoe have current flowing in the clockwise direction, then both ends are south poles. Is this possible? In that case how are the domains aligned?
mfb said:You create the equivalent of two permanent magnets with equal poles held together: The fields will largely cancel each other and you get a complex and weak sum of the two fields.
You cannot create magnetic monopoles that way. While these might exist as elementary particles, no magnetic monopole has ever been found - if they exist at all, they must be incredibly rare.
You are proposing, effectively two solenoids, connected by an iron bar, joining S pole to S pole. I cannot find an image of the fields round that particular setup but the images in this link may give you an idea of what to expect. You will see that the lines of force that you were thinking would somehow disappear will, in fact, bend round from S to N poles. The result will not be symmetrical but those lines will still find their way from N to S, whatever you do with them. In all the possible set ups you can see, the lines are complete - sometimes going through both magnets.Fiona Rozario said:Is it possible for a horseshoe magnet to have only one pole? For example, if i take a horseshoe shaped iron core and wind a conductor such that both the ends of the horseshoe have current flowing in the clockwise direction, then both ends are south poles. Is this possible? In that case how are the domains aligned?