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Asked by to Edward, Ian, Mathew, Naomi, sakshisharda on 19 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
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Ian Stephenson answered on 19 Jun 2014:
Traditionally they’re made of Iron, as its a common material that can be magnetised. All the atoms in iron have their own magnetic field, and when the iron is magnetised all those fields line up to create a big magnetic field.
However iron isn’t the only substance that can be used. Neodymium (the name of this zone), make FAR stronger magnets than iron. However its much rarer, so its only been used in the last 10 years or so. It’s used to make the magnets for loud speakers, as because its stronger you can use less, which makes the speaker lighter.
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Naomi Osborne answered on 20 Jun 2014:
Other metals can also be used including nickel, cobalt and aluminum, which are now commonly combined with iron to produce ‘alnico’ magnets. These magnets don’t lose magnetism as much over time, but like neodymium are more expensive
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Edward Hughes answered on 20 Jun 2014:
You can make a temporary magnet out of any conducting material (mostly metals) by passing electricity through a coil. This is because electricity and magnetism are actually two sides of the same coin (a force called electromagnetism).
Interestingly you can only make a magnet with both a north and a south pole. You can’t just have a north pole or a south pole separately! If you try to cut a magnet in half, the new ends will arrange it so they still have both north and south.
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