Say you have a magnet, one end of the magnet has a positive charge and

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter AstrophysicsX
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Charge Magnet Positive
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the properties of magnets, specifically addressing the effects of breaking a magnet in half, the nature of magnetic and electric charges, and the concept of magnetic monopoles. Participants explore theoretical implications and definitions related to magnetism and charge.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that breaking a magnet with a positive and negative charge would result in two magnets, each with a north and south pole.
  • Another participant questions the existence of permanent magnets with opposite electric charges, noting that most permanent magnets are metals.
  • There is a discussion about refrigerator magnets being nonmetallic, leading to a challenge regarding their material composition.
  • Some participants assert that breaking a magnet in half will always yield two magnets, each retaining a north and south pole.
  • A question is raised about whether there is a limit to how many times a magnet can be cut before it ceases to have two poles, with a response affirming it will always remain a dipole.
  • Participants discuss the concept of magnetic monopoles, with one participant noting that a lone electron is not considered a magnetic monopole despite being an electric monopole.
  • Clarifications are made regarding the terminology of "charge" versus "pole," with one participant defining the term "monopole" in the context of magnets.
  • There is acknowledgment that magnetic monopoles have not been observed in nature but are theorized to exist under certain conditions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the nature of magnets and charges, particularly regarding the existence of monopoles and the properties of materials used in magnets. The discussion remains unresolved on several points, particularly concerning the definitions and implications of magnetic and electric charges.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various types of magnets and their properties, but there are limitations in the assumptions made about the nature of charges and the materials involved. The discussion does not resolve the theoretical implications of magnetic monopoles.

AstrophysicsX
Messages
61
Reaction score
0
Say you have a magnet, one end of the magnet has a positive charge and the other end has a negative charge. What would happen to the magnet if you broke it in half?
 
Physics news on Phys.org


If you mean positive and negative electric charges, then you will have two magnets, one positively charged and one negatively charged. Also, both of the new magnets will be magnetic dipoles, each with a "north" pole and a "south" pole.

I think you will find it rather difficult to create a permanent magnet with opposite electric charges on the two ends, because as far as I know, all permanent magnets are metals, i.e. conductors.
 


as far as I know, all permanent magnets are metals, i.e. conductors.
Refrigerator magnets are nonmetallic.
 


Bill_K said:
Refrigerator magnets are nonmetallic.

Are you sure? What are they made of if not metallic materiel?
 


If you're talking about north and south magnetic fields, then when you break it in half you still have a magnet with north and south magnetic fields... it's just half as long as it was before...

EDIT: post #2 already said this... sorry. And you'll have two of them... as pointed out.
 


So, if you repeatedly cut a magnet in half, is there a point where it would cease to have two poles?
 


AstrophysicsX said:
So, if you repeatedly cut a magnet in half, is there a point where it would cease to have two poles?

No, your magnet will always remain a dipole.
 


Even a single electron, proton, or neutron still acts as a magnetic dipole. Each type of fundamental particle has a fixed magnetic dipole moment.
 


I forget the name, what do you call a magnet that has one charge only?
 
  • #10


P.S: I know that we haven't observed one in nature yet.
 
  • #11


AstrophysicsX said:
I forget the name, what do you call a magnet that has one charge only?

I think you mean "pole" not "charge". When we say "charge" we almost always mean "electric charge."

Assuming that's the case, the word you're looking for is "monopole."
 
  • #12


So why isn't a lone electron considered a monopole?
 
  • #13


Because a lone electron has both a north and south magnetic pole.
 
  • #14


AstrophysicsX said:
So why isn't a lone electron considered a monopole?

A lone electron is an electric monopole (an incorrect term actually, as there are no "poles" to the electric charge), but it is NOT a magnetic monopole. We have yet to observe any magnetic monopoles, but they are theorized by some to exist in certain situations I believe.
 
  • #15


Drakkith said:
A lone electron is an electric monopole (an incorrect term actually, as there are no "poles" to the electric charge), but it is NOT a magnetic monopole. We have yet to observe any magnetic monopoles, but they are theorized by some to exist in certain situations I believe.

That answers my question perfectly, Thanks.
 

Similar threads

Undergrad Charge movement relative to magnetic field frame dependence/invariance
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
Undergrad Question on Hall Effect and magnetic force
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
High School EMF induced by Bar Magnet falling through a Coil
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Graduate Magnetization and magnet poles
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
High School Not sure about the magnetic flux (phi) depending on a cosine function
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
High School Is Newton's third law getting violated here?
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
2K
High School Thought Experiment on Charge Carriers and Electrical Conduction
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K
High School Why does a magnet attract metal objects?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Undergrad Motional EMF in Faraday disc, co-rotating magnet axial mean flux
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
1K
High School Why does my LC circuit not oscillate its energy between Electric & Magnetic fields?
  • · Replies 152 ·
6
Replies
152
Views
8K