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Unit 11: Magnetism Page 16
toy top. The magnetic poles are Diamagnetic
close to the geographic poles but
they are off by quite a bit. (The Diamagnetic
south pole isn’t even in Antarctica materials (like
– it’s in the ocean.) In fact, the bismuth, water, and
north and south magnetic poles of graphite) have very
the Earth move from year to year weak magnetic
and have completely flipped a fields. When the electrons have
couple of times! about the same number spinning
left and spinning right, they each
Magnetic other out and the atom has no
Field magnetic poles. However, if you
bring a magnet near, the magnetic
The Earth may field causes the individual electrons
be a weak in the atom to move, and since
magnet, but it has a gigantic moving electrons create a
magnetic field. The Earth’s magnetic fields, the electrons
magnetic field gets warped by the create a magnetic field opposite to
Sun’s solar winds. So on the side the original magnetic field and the
towards the Sun the field can reach atom moves away from the
over 43,500 miles or 70,000 km magnet. The effect is very weak,
into space. but with enough care you can see
this effect in water (which is what
On the side away from the Sun, a grape is mostly made up of).
the field can stretch out much
farther. This field forms a bit of a Paramagnetic
barrier against the cosmic rays
from the Sun and is called the Paramagnetic
magnetosphere. materials (like
aluminum, helium,
Sun flares often hit this and platinum) need
magnetosphere and create to be chilled in order
auroras. Auroras are beautiful light for their magnetic fields to be
shows in the sky that normally noticeable. Here's why: what if the
take place in the very northern or atom has more electrons spinning
southern hemispheres. left than right? When this happens,
the atom now has magnetic poles
(north and south), and you can
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