Week 1: Magnetism

 In this week of class, I was introduced to the idea of "magnetism" - something we've all heard of before. But I've never thought about the details or the specifics of the concept and it's actually really interesting! Some of the things I learned and consider key take-aways are: 

Lecture

  • When you "charge" a metal (iron, cobalt, or nickel), it essentially means that you are getting all the electrons to line up. 
  • Magnets are everywhere!
  • Iron, cobalt, and nickel are the only metals that are magnetic. 
    • They are also all next to each other on the periodic table - you can create temporary magnets with these. 
  • The Earth's core = an iron & nickel based liquid (so much that it's actually magnetic!)
    • This makes the magnetosphere. 
    • Part of the magnetosphere is held by magnetic core! 
    • Without the magnetic core = we would have NO life. 
  • The Earth's pulls are so strong that the magnet will flip around. 
    • Our "North" is now "South". 
    • Positive electrons will be attracted to the South. 
    • Technically, Earth is labeled backwards. 
  • Opposite sides of magnets attract! 
Reading Notes 
  • Magnetism is the force that repels or attracts objects within the magnetic field. 
    • The magnetic field: the area around a magnet that has magnetic force
  • Common misconception = all metals are magnetic. 
  • Magnetic metals are: iron, cobalt, & nickel 
  • Electrons moving is what generates a magnetic field. 
  • Most atoms: electron pairs move in opposite directions & cancel out, BUT... 
    • metals like iron have unpaired electrons that line up when exposed to a strong magnet
    • this equals magnetized! 
  • Auroras are displays of light in the sky 
    • N. hemisphere: "Aurora borealis" 
    • S. hemisphere: "Aurora australis"

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