 Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me. |
Forum Index : Other Stuff : Magnetic compass
| Author | Message | ||||
Downwind Guru  Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
Here is a trick question for you clever people to ponder over, and see if you can give an answer to it without checking the internet first. NO CHEATING. If the North (red) end of a compass points to Earths magnetic North pole, then when you bring a compass near to a permanent magnet will the compass red end point to the north or south pole of the permanent magnet. And Why do you think this answer is correct? Pete. Sometimes it just works |
||||
Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
The north pointing end of the compass needle must be a south pole, so its attracted to the Earths North pole. So if you brough it near a North pole of a magnet, it should point to it. But I bet this is a trick question, and I'm wrong. 
Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
"Glen wonders if the North pole of the Earth is actually a South pole, but its called North. A bit like electroncs flow from negative to positive, and not the other way around as expected." The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
| Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
No its not a trick question, just something myself and someone had different points of view on, so was wondering what other people thought before checking for an answer. Glenn, i think you looked it up?? 
If you must look it up before giving you thoughts to the question, then here is one place to start. http://www.windows2universe.org/physical_science/magnetism/b ar_magnet_interactive.html Try moving the compass around the magnet in the link. It also poses a question to the effects of magnets in our way of thinking to how things are effected by our planet. Glenn must be the only clever person here to be the only one to comment. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
||||
| MOBI Guru Joined: 02/12/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 819 |
Ok, I'm the someone and I always believed that the earth's north pole was magnetically north too. Well bugger me, a bit of web surfing and the trusty paper version of wikipedia and the north pole is actually south. No wonder I've been going in circles all these years. David M. |
||||
yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
Legend has it that Hans Orsted was giving a lecture at the Copenhagen uni, got a bit excited and carried away in the moment and decided to try an experiment mid lecture. He placed a compass alongside a wire that he passed a current through and demonstrated a deflection of the compass needle. Modern historical accounts recall that he was "surprised" when swapping the wires on the battery caused a rapid deflection in the opposite direction. Isaac Asimov maintained in one of his essays on science that "surprised" is an example of massive Danish understatement, stunned and speechless would be closer to the mark. I like to think that this was the moment that sealed the electrons fate, to spend the rest of human history running backwards, on the direction a compass pointed, in a uni lecture gone wrong. Or the boffins could have just flipped a coin to decide, while they were blowin the froth off a pilsner or two after a hard day at the lab. If you are looking for "cat amongst the pigeons" statements, have a go at this one from QI series 1, start of episode 10 Steven Fry: Five theories... I always maintained there was three, until some kid invented the remote control micro-copter a couple of years ago, that pretty much stuffed everything. I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
||||
| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
So I'm wrong then. If the Earths north pole is magnetically a south pole, then the red end of the compass needle must be a north pole. So early scientists got the electron flow wrong, and the Earths magnetic poles wrong too, so maybe they got the orientation of the Earth wrong too, and Australia should be Up Over instead of Down Under. I have to say I'm a fan of QI, best educational show on TV. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
| Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
Glenn, Best to get the Wrong's out the way early in the year, to save them cropping up latter on more important things. Truth be known i think 99% of people would have thought the North pole was a north magnetic field and vise versa for the south pole. In actual fact the earth is made up of 4 magnetic poles N-S-N-S with a N-S in the centre core. With this in mind do that effect things closer to the equator then nearer to the poles. I think we all in OZ already know we are on top of the world (but Shhhh, dont tell the Americans) the old saying ... cream will rise to the top, is true. 
America is closer to the North pole then us, but what they dont realise is the magnetic South charge is dragging their econnomy South.
Pete. Sometimes it just works |
||||
| MOBI Guru Joined: 02/12/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 819 |
Geez Pete, you're stirring the possum there. David M. |
||||
| Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
Not sure if the USA has possum's, rattling the squirrel cage maybe Sometimes it just works |
||||
 Print this page |
