Magnets and Motors - Part 1

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the principles of magnetism, types of magnets, magnetic and non-magnetic materials, magnetisation and demagnetisation methods, and magnetic fields from Chapter 1: Magnets and Motors.

Magnet

A piece of metal that has the power to attract or push away other objects without touching them, possessing both a North pole and a South pole.

Magnetic Dipole

A pair of magnetic poles (North and South) that cannot exist on their own; every small part of a magnet has two poles.

Magnetic Materials (Ferrous)

Materials that are attracted to magnets, with examples including steel, iron, cobalt, and nickel.

Non-Magnetic Materials (Non-ferrous)

Materials that are not attracted to magnets, such as wood, plastic, gold, glass, copper, and aluminium.

Law of Magnetic Poles

The law stating that unlike poles attract and like poles repel.

Repulsion Test

The only sure test to prove a material is a magnet, because attraction can occur between a magnet and an unmagnetised magnetic material, whereas repulsion only occurs between like poles of two magnets.

Magnetic Induction

The process by which an unmagnetised magnetic material becomes an induced magnet when brought near or into contact with a magnet.

Soft Magnetic Material

A magnetic material, such as iron, that is easy to magnetise and loses most of its magnetism quickly when the magnetic field is removed.

Hard Magnetic Material

A magnetic material, such as steel, that is difficult to magnetise and difficult to lose its magnetism, keeping its magnetism to form a permanent magnet.

Magnetisation

The process by which a magnetic object is made into a magnet by aligning all of its dipoles in the same direction.

Unmagnetised Material

A magnetic material in which all the dipoles point in different directions and are not aligned.

Stroking Method

A method of magnetisation where a permanent magnet strokes a magnetic material repeatedly in the same direction to align its dipoles.

Solenoid

A coil of wire wound into a cylindrical shape through which electric current flows to create a magnetic field.

Electrical Method (of Magnetisation)

A magnetisation method involving a direct current (D.C.) passing through a wire coiled around a magnetic material.

Electromagnet

A temporary magnet produced by running an electric current through a solenoid wound around a soft magnetic core like iron.

Right-Hand Grip Rule

A rule used to determine the magnetic poles of a solenoid, where fingers indicate the direction of the electric current and the thumb points towards the North pole.

Demagnetisation

The process by which a magnet is no longer magnetised because its dipoles lose their alignment.

Demagnetisation by Heating

Heating a magnet until red hot so that its atoms vibrate intensely, causing the dipoles to lose their alignment.

Demagnetisation by A.C. Supply

A method of destroying magnetism where a magnet is placed in a solenoid connected to an alternating current supply and then slowly withdrawn before the current is switched off.

Magnetic Field

The space or area around a magnet in which the magnetic forces of attraction or repulsion are felt.

Magnetic Field Lines

Lines representing a magnetic field that leave the North pole, enter the South pole, never cross each other, and are most concentrated at the poles.

Plotting Compass

A small compass with a magnetized needle used to determine both the shape and the direction of magnetic field lines.

Neutral Point

A point between two like magnetic poles where the magnetic fields do not interact and no magnetic flux is present.