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Magnetic fields

The area around a magnet where its magnetism can be "felt" is called a MAGNETIC FIELD. If a compass is put into the field it will point along the direction of the magnetic field. The shapes of some simple magnetic fields are shown in the diagrams.

When two magnetic fields overlap they may cancel out at some place. A point where the resultant magnetic field is zero is called a NEUTRAL POINT. You can see a neutral point on diagram (c) marked P.


 

Uniform magnetic field

The diagram shows the magnetic field between two flat magnets. The magnetic field lines are the same distance apart throughout the field and so it is called a uniform field.

 

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© Keith Gibbs 2020