• Question: Do you have any interesting facts on magnetism?

    Asked by slytheringirl to Mike, Pip, Tianfu, Tim, Tom on 3 Jul 2012.
    • Photo: Tim Stephens

      Tim Stephens answered on 3 Jul 2012:

      The only ‘interesting’ fact I know about magnetism is that there’s no such thing as a magnetic monopole. In other words, you can’t have just a ‘North’ or ‘South’ magnet all by itself: one side will be N and the other S. Always.

    • Photo: Tom Lister

      Tom Lister answered on 3 Jul 2012:

      I do some work alongside people who work with MRI machines (these use very powerful magnets to produce their scans). If you walk past an MRI machine, right next to it, the magnets can produce electric currents in your nerves. This feels like tingling, and can also make you see flashes of light that aren’t there.

      Also, our sun (and other stars) produce very strong magnetic fields. And the earth’s magnetic field occasionally flips over so the South Pole becomes the North and vice-versa. And there is a region above South Africa that is ‘North’ rather than ‘South’

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