Summary for refrigerator magnets work Discussion
Refrigerator magnets work by magnetic attraction to the steel surface of the fridge, not by a special one-sided trick. In the thread, Leah Sara asks whether the magnets are made so they stick only to the refrigerator and not to anything on the other side. Stuart Jackson replies skeptically, saying the effect seems hard to explain and joking that it appears to defy gravity without energy. Ted Mooney, P.E., responds that the issue is not mysterious in the way described, asking whether one would say energy is being expended if the magnet were simply bolted or welded to the fridge. When Jessica Green later asks again how refrigerator magnets work, the answer given is that invisible “bolts” fasten the magnet to the fridge, reinforcing the point that the magnet is held by attraction to the metal surface rather than a special mechanism.
Q. How do refrigerator magnets stick? There is a particular method to make these magnets so that they stick to only the refrigerator and not to anything else on the other side of the magnet. How does this work?
Leah Sara
– New York, New York
A. Hi Leah. You have asked one of the questions that most scientists cannot, effectively, answer. It is difficult to work out how something like a fridge magnet can defy the force of gravity (whatever that is!) without expending energy somehow. If energy is being expended then where is that energy finding it’s source from? Good luck with any answers :-)
Stuart Jackson
– Eckington, Derbyshire, England
October 9, 2011
A. Hi, Stuart.
Thanks, but I don’t really agree. Would you feel the same, that energy is being expended, if the magnet were bolted or welded to the fridge?
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
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October 10, 2011
A. Hiya Ted. If the magnet was bolted or welded to the fridge then the question wouldn’t arise, unless you see the magnetic force in the same way as a bolt or a weld. The physics behind the bolting or welding of something does not correlate to the apparent ‘force’ that holds a magnet to anything metal. There would be a transfer of work energy involved in the bolting and welding that isn’t involved in a magnet.
Stu
Stuart Jackson
– Eckington, Derbyshire, England
October 15, 2011
A. Thanks again, Stuart, but once again I must disagree. A tightened bolt will both pull the item towards the fridge and keep it from falling :-)
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
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finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
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January 9, 2013
Q. How do the magnets in a refrigerator work?
Jessica Green
– Canton, Michigan, US
January 8, 2013
A. Hi Jessica. Invisible “bolts” fasten the magnet to the fridge.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
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Need project assistance? $100/hr.
January 9, 2013