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Magnets
by Charles Linrette
http://www.flmagnet.com
Magnets are pieces of metal that have a magnetic field.
They can be either permanent magnets or electromagnets.
Permanent magnets are strong on their own and do not need
any outside influences but electromagnets need outside help
from other sources.
Most objects containing metal or iron are attracted to
magnets because these materials have some kind of
permeability in them. Even magnets are attracted to each
other on one side, turn them over though and they repel
each other. Water is not attracted to magnets because it
has no permeability to it. To measure a magnets strength
it's measured by a unit called a Telsa, named after an
electrical engineer Nikola Tesla, who spent his time
working with magnets.
Magnets can be attracted to each other on one side and will
repel each other on the other side. Many objects can be
magnetized but some things should not even come within the
magnetized field of a magnet because it can cause serious
damage. Wrist watches to not do well around magnets as well
as some types of tape recordings can be erased permanently
if brought within range of a strong magnet.
Magnets function as transducers, meaning they transform
energy from one form to another, without any permanent loss
of their own energy. For example, loudspeakers rely on a
combination of a permanent magnet and an electromagnet.
Fundamentally, a speaker is a device that converts electric
energy (the signal) into mechanical energy (the sound).
Some electric motors, much like loudspeakers, rely upon a
combination of magnets. A generator is the reverse of
loudspeakers and motors. They convert mechanical energy
into electric energy.
Magnets are an important part of our daily lives. Their
contribution is often overlooked because they are built
into devices and usually are out of sight. For example, VHS
tapes contain a reel of magnetic tape that contains encoded
video and sound. Similarly, computer floppy disks record
data through a thin magnetic coding. All credit, debit and
ATM cards have a magnetic strip containing the necessary
information to contact an individual's financial
institution and connect to their accounts. Common
televisions and computer monitors rely in part on an
electromagnet to generate an image. Magnets also serve as
essential components in such everyday items as electric
motors, loudspeakers, microwave ovens and automobiles.
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