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Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Answering your questions about life, Earth and the universe

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

CS_Magnets_Getty488363678.jpg

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CrowdScience: How Do Magnets Work?

CS Magnets

20/07/2018 GMT

How Do Magnets Work?

BBC World Service - CrowdScience, How Do Magnets Work?

CrowdScience tries to answer the question what lies behind the power of magnetic attraction.

This deceptively simple question from listeners Andy, Mike and James is actually one of the hardest questions CrowdScience has ever tackled. Why? Because even scientists struggle to explain the true nature of the magnetic force and to do so in a way that even presenter Marnie Chesterton can understand is a serious challenge. What is a magnet? And just what is going on when magnets exert a force?

With the help of Melanie Windridge, Sean Giblin, Steve Bramwell, Charlotte New and Peter Morris we attempt to navigate the oddities of one of the most fundamental phenomena in the universe. 


(Image: A horseshoe magnet attracting some hammer nails. Credit: Getty Images)

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