Magnet: A Question of Balance

Photo taken for the Macro Mondays theme Magnet.

 

In this photo a bar magnet has picked up several small metal nuts from a child’s metal meccano set. The nuts each have a maximum width of 7mm. I’ve taken the liberty of arranging these nuts into the shape of a question mark. This represents the question of balance between the invisible forces of gravity and magnetism, with the latter being the stronger here ensuring that the metal nuts are held within the magnet’s magnetic field and look like they are balancing in mid air and don’t fall to the ground.

 

 

The magnet is a bar magnet with just one end exposed, the rest encased in blue plastic. The magnet is at the end of a 40 cm length of wooden rod and at right angles to the rod. It comes from a toy I had as a child. The magnet is permanent and quite strong.

 

These days the magnet is used for picking up spilled small metal items, such as sewing pins, paper clips or metal nuts and bolts, which readily adhere to it.

 

(A question of balance - 1970 album by The Moody Blues).

 

Maximum distance in photo is 4.5cm

 

 

Done