Answer:
People have been aware of magnets and magnetism for thousands of years. The earliest records date back to ancient times, particularly in the region of Asia Minor called Magnesia—the name of this region is the source of words like magnet. Magnetic rocks found in Magnesia, which is now part of western Turkey, stimulated interest during ancient times. When humans first discovered magnetic rocks, they likely found that certain parts of these rocks attracted bits of iron or other magnetic rocks more strongly than other parts. These areas are called the poles of a magnet. A magnetic pole is the part of a magnet that exerts the strongest force on other magnets or magnetic material, such as iron. For example, the poles of the bar magnet shown in Figure 20.2 are where the paper clips are concentrated.
A bar magnet with paper clips attached to it.
Figure 20.2 A bar magnet with paper clips attracted to the two poles.
If a bar magnet is suspended so that it rotates freely, one pole of the magnet will always turn toward the north, with the opposite pole facing south. This discovery led to the compass, which is simply a small, elongated magnet mounted so that it can rotate freely. An example of a compass is shown Figure 20.3. The pole of the magnet that orients northward is called the north pole, and the opposite pole of the magnet is called the south pole.