How do magnets work?

Commonly used to attach pictures on your fridge, to guide yourself with a compass, to store data in your computer or to perform an MRI at a hospital, magnets are all around us. The most characteristic property of a magnet is their ability to pull together or push apart certain metal objects or other magnets due to the magnetic field generated by magic! I mean, the magnet. 

So, what is a magnetic field? Like mass and energy or time and space, electricity and magnetism are essentially two aspects of the same nature. More precisely, a magnetic field is what an electron field (the space between the magnet and magnetic object) becomes when an electrically charged object starts moving towards the magnet.  As we know a fridge magnet, or a compass needle are just objects without any applied electrical current. However, if we dive into the atomic level, we can see there are loads of electrons moving around the atoms that give these objects a tiny electrical current. Most atoms have an intrinsic magnetic moment a.k.a. ‘tiny magnet’, often described as positive or negative, north or south poles, etc. the intrinsic magnetism of electrons in an atom constitutes much of the magnetic field in magnets which is primarily dictated not only by the elemental composition but also the underlying structure of the object. The most common magnetic materials are often made up of iron, cobalt, nickel, and some rare-earth metals. 

This fascinating combination of effects ranging from electrons to atoms, dictate whether a material is magnetic or not. Although complicated to understand and difficult to explain in non-technical terms, what is remarkable about magnetism is the fact that a fundamental quantum property can be used and witnessed in everyday objects. Who knew that quantum could be so fun!

By Roy Arrieta