What Makes a Metal Magnetic?
Magnetism is an invisible force that attracts or repels certain objects. Magnets attract or repel things made out of iron, nickel, and cobalt. Magnets have 2 poles: a North and South pole. Like poles repel and unlike poles attract each other. Magnetic domains in a metal make that metal magnetic. Magnetic domains are tiny arrangements of atoms inside of certain metals like iron. Magnetic domains have tiny atoms with electrons that are spinning in the same direction. The magnetic domains line up when the metal is brought close to a magnet. Imagine magnetic domains as even tinier magnets inside of a metal that are jumbled up. When a magnet is brought near the material, the magnetic domains line up in the same direction. That is what makes certain metals and objects magnetic!