ABSTRACT
A permanent magnet is a piece of ferromagnetic material (such as iron, nickel or cobalt) which has properties of attracting other pieces of these materials.
The area around a magnet is called the magnetic field and it is in this area that the effects of the magnetic force produced by the magnet can be detected. The magnetic field of a bar magnet can be represented pictorially by the ‘lines of force’ (or lines of ‘magnetic flux’ as they are called) as shown in Fig. 38.1. Such a field pattern can be produced by placing iron filings in the vicinity of the magnet.
