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The compass needle is magnetic so if you place a magnet near the compass, the needle will change direction either attracting or reppeling.

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Why do explorers in the Arctic and Antarctic rarely use a compass to find the orientation?

Explorers working on either pole of the earth don't use compasses because they don't work accurately so far north or so far south. The way a compass works is by using a magnet with a "north" pole and a "south" pole. If you've ever held two magnets near each other, you may have noticed that they will either stick together or push apart. That's because of their poles. North and south stick together, but north and north or south and south will not.The earth is like a gigantic magnet. Its north pole is the same as the south pole of a magnet, so on a compass the north arrow points towards the north pole.You could think of it this way: at the north pole and the south pole the compass won't work because the north pole is all one side of a magnet and the south pole is all the other side of it. So when you have a compass at the north pole, it's both attracted and repelled at the same time so it ends up pointing in some random direction or toward the closest piece of metal that a magnet will stick to.Now let's pretend for a moment that you have a really fancy compass that works accurately even at the north pole. If you used the compass to find your way all the way to the very tip of the earth, you would be at the most north point. If you then went true east (east according to a map) then your compass would do something funny. Instead of pointing north, your compass would be pointing west!


What happens when you move the bar magnet far from the nails?

When you move the bar magnet far away from the nails, the magnetic field surrounding the magnet weakens significantly. As a result, the magnetic force acting on the nails decreases, causing them to lose their magnetized state and fall off.


How does a compass work using the Earth's magnetic field?

a compass has a magnetic point which points to the north pole. well yes but....a compass has a magnetic needle inside it which attracts it self to the earths magnetic field. it may not actually point to the norht pole but actually to the earths magnetic north pole


How does a compass allow you to find your directionm?

A compass uses Earth's magnetic field to determine which way is north. By aligning the compass needle with the north direction, you can easily find your orientation and determine other cardinal directions.


How far apart can a magnet be to stick to something?

It depends mostly on how strong the magnet is and how much iron, nickel, cobalt is in the substance its supposed to stick to, as these elements are the only common substances that readily stick to magnets, except other magnets or electromagnets. A premium quality, N45 purity neodymium based permanent magnet in the form of a 1 inch x 1 inch x 1 inch cube, for example, can pull a another magnet of the same type several inches away and steel staples as far away as a hand length (the length between the tip of your thumb and the tip of your pinky, with all your fingers spred out). On the other hand, a magnetite refrigerator magnet (about the worst type of magnet there is) would have to be less than half an inch away from steel staples to attract them. Keep in mind that the actual range of a magnetic field is infinite, but because of the physical properties of such fields, their strength is only noticeable when very close to their source. Therefore, the "significant" range of a magnetic field depends on how strong its source is.

Related Questions

What technology will you need if you are far away?

Far away from what? A compass? A GPS? What are you asking for?


Why can a magnet not have only north?

because every north has a south, So to have a magnet you need to have a force pulling in both directions to create the magnetic field which is required when you have a magnet. To have a true magnetic force stand on the very tip of the north pole and your compass should say south. This is because you are so far over the northern hemisphere, that you are standing in the southern hemisphere.


Which is the distance between a magnet and a paperclip?

Unfortunately this question needs more detail to answer. Are you asking about how far apart a magnet and a paperclip are if they're touching (# of atoms), or how far apart the magnet at my house is from the paperclip in china, or how far apart a magnet has to be from a paperclip before it starts to create a pull (even this would need more details, what size of magnet, what strength, what size of paperclip)?


What is the space around a magnet where the forces of the magnet act?

The space around a magnet where the force of the magnet can act is the space occupied by the magnetic field. Alternatively we say that the magnetic field acts in the space around a magnet. That is a very qualitative statement with little predictive value. More predictive value is contained in a statement that the strength of the magnetic field at any position in the vicinity of a magnet is measured by the torque which is exerted on a small magnet moment (compass) place in the vicinity of a magnet. This, recorded with the direction the test compass points is actually a mapping of the magnetic field of a magnet. As a side note, if carefully measured one discovers that strength of the field around a magnet decreases as the inverse cube of the distance when far from the magnet. The field is mostly in the volume near the magnet but the weakening field continues to exist at all distances from the magnet.


What is a force that wraps around a magnet?

magnetic pull


What is magnitic compass?

yes its a compass they used in the 1400 that told what direction to go to when far from home


How was the compass invented?

You can find an answer in this article. http://www.haowind.com/who-invented-the-compass The earliest compass is made with natural magnet, the Chinese people of Hanzu have found a natural magnet and its iron absorption for a long time. According to ancient records, far away in the Chun Qiu and Zhan Guo Period, is in slavery society to a feudal society, the transition period of great change, productivity has been greatly developed, especially agricultural production is flourishing developed, prompted by the mining industry. This helped the development of the mining industry. In the long-term production practice, people recognize the magnet from the iron ore. The earliest compass is named Si Nan. It is the first compass in China and the whole world.


Why do explorers in the Arctic and Antarctic rarely use a compass to find the orientation?

Explorers working on either pole of the earth don't use compasses because they don't work accurately so far north or so far south. The way a compass works is by using a magnet with a "north" pole and a "south" pole. If you've ever held two magnets near each other, you may have noticed that they will either stick together or push apart. That's because of their poles. North and south stick together, but north and north or south and south will not.The earth is like a gigantic magnet. Its north pole is the same as the south pole of a magnet, so on a compass the north arrow points towards the north pole.You could think of it this way: at the north pole and the south pole the compass won't work because the north pole is all one side of a magnet and the south pole is all the other side of it. So when you have a compass at the north pole, it's both attracted and repelled at the same time so it ends up pointing in some random direction or toward the closest piece of metal that a magnet will stick to.Now let's pretend for a moment that you have a really fancy compass that works accurately even at the north pole. If you used the compass to find your way all the way to the very tip of the earth, you would be at the most north point. If you then went true east (east according to a map) then your compass would do something funny. Instead of pointing north, your compass would be pointing west!


Why is an electromagnet not use in compass?

An electromagnet in a compass would be influenced by Earth's magnetic field, making the compass less accurate. Additionally, the power source needed for the electromagnet would make the compass less reliable in various conditions, such as when the power source is unavailable or if it fails. Traditional compasses use a magnetized needle that aligns with Earth's magnetic field for consistent and reliable navigation.


What happens when you move the bar magnet far from the nails?

When you move the bar magnet far away from the nails, the magnetic field surrounding the magnet weakens significantly. As a result, the magnetic force acting on the nails decreases, causing them to lose their magnetized state and fall off.


What you can make visible by sprinkling iron fillings around a magnet?

By sprinkling iron fillings around a magnet the magnetic field can be shown. If the magnet is the opposite charge then the iron they will be repelled by the magnet showing how far the magnetic field reaches.


What happens when you break a magnet?

As you break a magnet, the remnant (broken piece) shall still remain a magnet with the same properties and poles. However, there is only so far a magnet can be broken. Visualize a magnet. Now imagine to have a knife that would keep cutting the magnet into half. It will reach a point that cutting the 'magnet' further would yield into a particle with no magnetic charge whatsoever. This is called a magnetic domain. Cutting a magnetic domain further would yield into a charge-less particle as it would be obviously incorrect to state that an atom of a magnetized steel bar would still remain a magnet.