What are Magnetic Forces?

I take advantage of magnetic forces whenever a spill a box of paper clips or staples at work. I have learned to keep a magnet on my desk for easy cleanup.

I am accident prone, and it seems that every time I reach for a paper clip, I end up knocking over the entire box onto the floor or all over my desk. Also, on more than one occasion, I have dropped a set of staples on the floor and broken it into its tiny counterparts.

All I have to do is swipe the rectangular magnet low over the area, and all the mess returns to me. It saves a lot of time.

My dad is always using his metal detector while trying to find old coins or jewelry on beaches. One day, I asked him how it worked, and I was surprised to learn that magnetic force is involved.

He told me that the metal detector transmits a magnetic field. When the electric currents hit a metal object, it disturbs the field. That’s when you hear the dinging sound, which varies according to what metal composes the object.

So far, he has yet to find any buried treasure. He has found a few old pennies and dimes to add to his collection, thanks to magnetic forces.

Magnetic forces are responsible for the aurora borealis. I would love to see the northern lights at least once in my lifetime. I have read a lot about them.

The northern lights show up when the super charged electrons of winds from the sun react with our atmosphere. When these electrons get to our planet, they are drawn to the areas of magnetic force produced by the core of the earth. So, they flow through the part with the strongest charge.

Depending on the altitude of the molecules they interact with, different colors will appear. Green, purple, and red are common. Every photo or video of the lights that I have seen has included bright green.

My husband works with metal in his shop a lot. When he uses a machine to cut it, he winds up with a lot of metal shavings on the floor. We have a dog and a two-year-old daughter, so this could potentially be dangerous.

To keep their feet from getting cut, he uses a magnet to pick up the shavings. The attraction is strong enough to pull the pieces off the floor. The magnet will pick up even the tiniest pieces that he might miss, because they are very hard to see.

@irontoenail - There are some thing that haven't been wholly understood yet by science. I know a few people who really do think using magnets has helped them with their pain. Maybe it is only the placebo effect.

But, in their cases at least, it was worth the money that they paid. Maybe magnetic lines of force aren't a magical cure all, but I think people should be able to make up their own minds about it.

I actually think one of the most common uses of magnets these days is to take money off people.

There are all kinds of health claims about magnets that have never been proved, but people will spend a lot of money trying to reap the benefits from a magnetic force field or something.

I know that they sell bracelets and blankets with magnets woven into them, and tell people they will help them sleep better, or make their arthritis go away.

It just makes me a bit mad, because often it is people who can't afford the proper cure who shell out money to buy something that won't really help them.

My grandmother used to collect fridge magnets. She would get a handful almost every time I was there, and ended up with a fridge that was more magnet than white!

Us kids would play all kinds of games with them, especially as some of them were shaped like animals or people and we could pretend they were fighting, or falling in love, or going shopping even.

I was also fascinated by the magnet itself, and how they would repel each other if I tried to stick them together. It seemed almost like magic to me.

I think I would do the same for my grand kids when I have them. It was a great way to distract us so granny and my mother could have a cup of tea together.