Reason of Magnetism
Magnetism is the force exerted by magnets when they attractor repel each other. Magnetism is caused by the motion of electric charges. Every substance is made up of tiny units called atoms. Each atom has electrons, particles that carry electric charges. Spinning like tops, the electrons circle the nucleus, or core, of an atom. Their movement generates an electric current and causes each electron to act like a microscopic magnet. In most substances, equal numbers of electrons spin in opposite directions, which cancels out their magnetism. That is why materials such as cloth or paper are said to be weakly magnetic. In substances such as iron, cobalt, and nickel, most of the electrons spin in the same direction. This makes the atoms in these substances strongly magnetic—but they are not yet magnets. To become magnetized, another strongly magnetic substance must enter the...