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Differences between electromagnets and magnets
What is an electromagnet?
Meta description: At first glance the difference between an electromagnet and a magnet may not be obvious, yet they have quite distinct characteristics. To the untrained eye, differences between electromagnets and magnets may be hard to spot. However, these two elements essential to electromagnetic theory are actually quite distinct.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ELECTROMAGNET AND A MAGNET?
To better answer this question, we first need to understand what exactly constitutes a magnet.
What is a magnet?
A magnet is a material that produces a magnetic field extending beyond its geometric limits capable of attracting other ferromagnetic materials.
Magnetism is due to electrical currents: a current-carrying conductor will exert a magnetic force on another current-carrying conductor placed parallel to it.
The magnetic force that is mutually exerted can be attractive or repulsive. A magnetic field exerts a force on moving charges.
Electrical current is the only way to create a magnet, permanent magnets carry a flow of current.
Every magnet has two distinct North and South poles, referring to the Earth’s magnetic poles towards which they point. Opposite poles attract while identical poles repel each other.
What is an electromagnet?
An electromagnet is a type of magnet for which the magnetic field is generated by a flow of current.
As the magnetic field is generated only when the current flows through the solenoid, it is possible to control its magnetization. An electromagnet is composed of a coil of copper wire, also known as a solenoid, wrapped around a core of “soft” ferromagnetic material.
When electric current flows through the coiled wire, a strong magnetic field is generated around the ferromagnetic material. An electromagnet is basically a magnet that can be controlled by an electrical current.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ELECTROMAGNET AND A MAGNET?
The big difference between electromagnets and magnets lies in the fact that permanent magnets are also electromagnets but with a constant current making each atom act like a little magnet.
The magnetic force depends on the core’s material, on the number of loops of wire in the coil, and on the current passing through the wire. If the current is strong enough, the magnetic field created by an electromagnet can be more powerful than that of a permanent magnet.
However, unlike permanent magnets that generate a magnetic field without power, electromagnets require a supply of external current to maintain the magnetic field. Human input is needed to activate the power supply and get the electromagnet to work.
