Last Updated on January 4, 2025 by Surender Kumar
Suppose some coins slip from your hands and fall on the ground. It is completely dark, how will you find those coins? Well, you can use a magnet to find those coins. A magnet is a substance that attracts certain materials towards itself.
Now, if the magnet comes near the coins, it will attract the coins due to a force. This force is called a magnetic force. In this way, you can easily find your coins. Force is one of the main chapters of class 8 physics. Let’s understand what is magnetic force.
Table of Contents
Definition of magnetic force
A magnetic force is a force that a magnet exerts on certain materials like iron, steel, nickel, and cobalt. This force is a type of non-contact force because it can act from a distance.
It does not require objects to be in physical contact. In the above example, we learned how we can use a magnet to attract coins. This shows that magnets exert a force on the coins from a distance.
Poles of a magnet
A magnet has two poles at its ends, the north pole and the south pole. The strength of the magnetic force is maximum at the poles and minimum at its center. A magnet exerts a magnetic force on other magnets as well.
For instance, if we bring near the north or south poles of two magnets, the magnets will repel each other. However, if we bring near the north pole and the south pole of magnets, they will attract.
In other words, like poles of the magnets repel and unlike poles attract each other. Therefore, we see that the magnetic force can either be attractive or repulsive in nature.
We will now discuss some examples of magnetic force to understand this concept better.
The formula of magnetic force
The formula for magnetic force is:
F = q(v × B)
Where:
- F is the magnetic force (in Newtons).
- q is the charge (in Coulombs).
- v is the velocity of the charged particle (in meters per second).
- B is the magnetic field (in Tesla).
Example: A charge of 2 C moving at 3 m/s in a 5 T magnetic field experiences a force of:
F = 2 × 3 × 5 = 30 N.
Examples of magnetic force
When we close the door of a refrigerator, and the door comes close to the fridge, it gets pulled by a strong force. As a result, the door closes. It is the magnetic force that pulls the door.
Cranes are fitted with electromagnets, which are temporary magnets. These magnets are very strong and can attract large magnetic substances from the garbage. Therefore, cranes are used to separate magnetic materials in a junkyard.
There are certain stickers that stick on the surface of steel almirahs and refrigerators. These stickers have magnets and due to magnetic force, they easily stick on certain surfaces. Nowadays, so many toys are fitted with magnets.
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