Book 21, Question 4
What Happens If You Cut a Magnet in Half?
If you cut a magnet in half, you do not get a north piece and a south piece. You get two smaller magnets, and each one has its own north and south pole!
More fun facts
- If you break a magnet in two, each half still has a north and a south pole.
- You get two smaller magnets, not one north piece and one south piece.
- Break it again and again, and each piece still has two poles.
- Scientists call each tiny two-poled magnet a dipole.
- Even tiny magnetic spheres each have a north and a south pole.
Sources: BBC, Science News Explores, Exploratorium
Questions kids ask
Can you get a magnet with only a north pole by cutting it?
No. Each piece still has a north and a south pole, no matter how many times you break it.