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A bar magnet is dipolar. How many poles does it have?

a. Zero
b. One
c. Two
d. Three

User Abdo
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

A bar magnet is a dipole and thus has two magnetic poles: a north pole and a south pole.

Step-by-step explanation:

A bar magnet has two poles: a north pole and a south pole, making it dipolar. Despite being divided into smaller pieces, each piece will continue to have a north and a south pole. This characteristic demonstrates that bar magnets are magnetic dipoles and do not exist as monopoles, which would be a magnet with only one pole. Magnets align with Earth's magnetic field, allowing a freely suspended magnet to point toward the geographic North and South Poles.

All magnets have two poles: a north pole and a south pole. When you cut a bar magnet in half, each half will have a north pole and a south pole. The concept of a magnetic dipole, which means having two opposite poles, applies at all scales from the atomic level to larger objects.

User Kristian Roebuck
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