Horseshoe magnet - the helper for school and at home

A young man from Düsseldorf learned the hard way that magnets can do more than just attach shopping lists to the refrigerator door: to hang his bicycle from the ceiling over the winter, he had ordered two so-called super magnets online. However, while unpacking the heavy metal plates from separately delivered packages, the amateur athlete underestimated their enormous attractive forces: his hand was squeezed between the magnets, which were drawn together, as if in a vice.
Finally, the fire department had to be called in, and they freed the man from the magnetic clamp using physical force, a rubber hammer, and wooden wedges. It's not without reason that experts recommend informing yourself about the possibilities and risks before handling magnets.
Find out here why this type of magnet is particularly suitable for interesting experiments and where else you can use it in everyday life.

How does a horseshoe magnet work?

Unlike an electromagnet, a horseshoe-shaped magnet is a so-called permanent magnet. Due to its material composition, it continuously generates a magnetic field within itself and in its immediate surroundings. Like every magnet in the world, a horseshoe magnet has two magnetic poles. Both its north and south poles exert strong forces of attraction on bodies made of ferromagnetic materials such as iron, cobalt, and nickel. This force is also known as the Lorentz force, which can be explained more precisely using the following definition. The Lorentz force is the force acting on individual moving charge carriers in a magnetic field.
This phenomenon is rooted in the atomic structure of metals, which can be explained as follows:

• Through the spin, the movement of the electrons around the atomic nucleus, each iron particle acquires the properties of a tiny electromagnet.
• Every atom has its own north and south pole.
• When iron comes into contact with a magnet, its elementary components align themselves with the pole counterparts of the magnet.
• The north pole of each iron atom moves towards the south pole of the magnet and vice versa.
• The effect and function are clearly visible and noticeable as a magnetic attraction on these bodies.

What are magnetic field lines in a horseshoe magnet?

The direction of the forces of a magnetic field (Lorentz force) is illustrated by the field lines in schematic drawings, which many people are familiar with from physics class. The arrows symbolically represent the direction in which the north pole of an imaginary iron particle would move along the magnet.

What characterizes the magnetic field of a horseshoe magnet?

Compared to the magnetic field of a rodmagnet, the field lines surrounding a horseshoe magnet (due to its bridge shape) present a much more complex picture. On the one hand, they move from the inside of the north pole directly to the opposite south pole, creating a magnetic field so homogeneous that no other magnet can match. From the outside of the north pole, however, the field lines run in arcs around the horseshoe toward the outside of the south pole.
They never overlap. Stronger areas of the horseshoe magnet's magnetic field are indicated in the diagram by a higher density of field lines. This also applies to bridge-shaped magnets.

Do you need strong horseshoe-shaped magnets? You'll find suitable examples in our school magnets category!

The Horseshoe Magnet: Experiments for School and Home

Horseshoe magnets are ideal for physics. They can be used to playfully illustrate the basic laws of magnetism.

Horseshoe Magnet: 1. Experiment: visualizing Magnetic Field Lines on a Horseshoe Magnet

For this experiment, you will need a horseshoe magnet and fine iron filings, such as those produced when filing metal objects. The experiment works as follows:

• Step 1: distribute iron filings
  Spread the filings on a smooth surface, e.g. a coated table top or a sheet of paper.
• Step 2: bring the horseshoe magnet into contact with the filings
  If you then place a horseshoe magnet in the center of the filings, the iron particles will align along the magnetic field lines of the horseshoe magnet due to the polarity of their atoms. This allows you to both visualize the field lines and measure the extent of the magnetic field. 

Particularly suitable for such an experiment are large horseshoe magnets, whose poles have a color marking (often red and green).

Horseshoe Magnet: 2. Experiment: magnetizing Objects

Nails, screws, paper clips, and other objects can be transformed into magnets using a horseshoe magnet (in the shape of a bridge). The principle behind it is also based on the magnetic alignment of the iron components. Simply follow these steps:

• Step 1: stroke the horseshoe evenly along metal objects
  For example, if you repeatedly stroke a horseshoe magnet from the head to the tip of a nail, you regularly align the poles of its atoms in one direction. This creates a magnetic north and south pole on the nail. Smaller and lighter metal objects, such as a paper clip or a pin, can easily be attracted to this newly formed magnet. However, if you drop the nail, the iron components become disorganized again, causing the object's magnetic force to disappear.
• Step 2: demonstrate the creation of new magnets with their own north and south poles by cutting them up
  Using magnetized pieces of wire, you can also simulate what happens when a magnet breaks: If you cut the magnetized wire in half—between the north and south poles of the magnet, so to speak—two new magnets are created, each with its own poles. No magnet in the world exists with only one pole.

Horseshoe Magnet: 3. Experiment: building a compass

This experiment will be loved by children who are enthusiastic about outdoor activities and playful survival training. Here's how to do it:

• Step 1: have utensils ready
  You will need a plastic bowl filled with water (about half a liter), a cork, a needle and a horseshoe magnet.
• Step 2: magnetize the needle
  Swipe the north pole of the horseshoe magnet from the eye of the needle to the tip at least 20 times. It's important to pull the magnet away from the needle when it reaches the tip and then reposition it at the top.
  This ensures that the elementary particles of the needle metal align themselves regularly.
• Step 3: fix the needle on the cork disc and place it on the water surface
  Attached to a disc of the cork, place the needle on the water's surface. The Earth's magnetic field automatically aligns it in a north-south direction. 

But be careful: place the horseshoe magnet used for construction out of reach of the floating compass so that its own magnetic field does not influence the needle.

The Horseshoe Magnet: frequently Asked Questions

We have collected the most frequently asked questions related to horseshoe magnets.

Where does the term "magnet" come from?

The name of all artificial magnets is derived from the magnetic mineral magnetite. This, in turn, is said to have originally been discovered in the Greek region of Magnesia. The ancient historian Pliny tells a different story: according to him, a shepherd named Magnes in the Turkish Ida Mountains once noticed that the nails of his shoes and the metal tip of his walking stick stuck to the magnetite-rich soil.

Who is the inventor of the horseshoe magnet?

The horseshoe magnet dates to the British physicist William Sturgeon, who developed the first horseshoe-shaped electromagnet in 1825. His construction consisted of insulated copper wire wound around a horseshoe-shaped iron core. This enabled him to generate significantly stronger magnetic fields than natural magnets.

Which is stronger – a horseshoe magnet or a rodmagnet?

If both are the same size, a horseshoe-shaped magnet has a higher holding force, or adhesion, than a rodmagnet. Unlike a rodmagnet, which can never bring both poles into contact with a metal part at the same time, a horseshoe magnet, thanks to its bridge shape with its north and south poles, acts jointly on its metallic counterpart. Furthermore, the absolute size of a magnet is crucial for its holding force.

Finally, the strength of the magnetic effect depends not least on the magnet's material: so-called ferrite magnets – especially those made of hard ferrite – are characterized by high temperature and corrosion resistance but exert a rather moderate attraction compared to other materials. They can be used up to an operating temperature of 250°C and are well suited for inexpensive horseshoe magnets in schools.
Magnets made of aluminum, nickel, and cobalt (AlNiCo) are stronger and can be used up to temperatures of 500°C. The material is easy to process, so you can get AlNiCo magnets in many different shapes—including horseshoe magnet 80 x 60 x 15 mm red / green - AlNiCo. Magnets made of the rare earth neodymium, combined with iron and boron, are often referred to as "super magnets" due to their strong adhesive force or magnetic forces. However, because neodymium is brittle, they do not come in horseshoe shapes. Accordingly, there are no neodymium horseshoe magnets.

What is the use and function of a horseshoe magnet?

Permanent magnets are used in the field of mechanics, electronics and electromechanics; for example in:

• electric motors
• bicycle dynamos
• microwave ovens
• modern wind turbines

Horseshoe-shaped magnets were once often used as field magnets in radio speakers. Larger sizes can lift scrap metal, metal parts, and hazardous materials, or assist in sorting metal objects during waste separation. In schools and homes, horseshoe magnets enable vivid experiments that teach the basic principles of magnetism and simple analytical techniques—ideal for children, teenagers, and interested adults.
They can also be used for crafts and DIY projects, or to collect metal objects and small parts from messy desk drawers, toolboxes, or sewing boxes.

Where can you buy nice and strong horseshoe magnets?

At magnet-shop.com, you can find horseshoe magnets made of both ferrite and AlNiCo—the latter naturally exerting the stronger magnetic force.
Larger models, with color-coded poles, are particularly suitable for the learning experiments described above.
Of course, we also have super magnets and neodymium magnets for you in our magnet shop.

What does geographic and magnetic North Pole mean?

The rotational movement of the Earth's liquid core creates a huge magnetic field within and around our planet, comparable to that of a large rodmagnet. Every magnet on Earth aligns itself according to the direction of this field, for example, if it were hung freely from a piece of string. However, our planet's geographic north pole, which represents the imaginary northern intersection point of the Earth's rotational axis, does not coincide with the magnetic pole of the Arctic. The magnetic pole lies a few kilometers from the geographic pole and, depending on solar activity, moves up to 80 kilometers a day. Confusingly, the magnetic pole in the Arctic is a magnetic south pole. This name has historical reasons. When people first discovered one pole of a magnet-oriented north, the convention arose to call the corresponding side of the magnet the "north pole". Only later did it become clear that opposite poles attract and that the magnetic pole in the north of the Earth must therefore be a magnetic south pole. To avoid confusion, scientists today speak of the ."Arctic and Antarctic magnetic poles".

Conclusion: horseshoe magnets are ideal for classroom teaching

Magnetism is a great way to inspire children's interest in science, for example, by demonstrating the Lorentz force on metallic objects. Materials that magically attract each other and align according to invisible field lines arouse curiosity about the underlying physical laws. While young researchers enjoy experimenting, older children are particularly fascinated by the practical applications of magnets – whether for DIY projects, recovering hazardous materials, or for the elegant closures of designer handbags and gold jewelry. Take advantage of these benefits and order your perfect horseshoe magnet here!
You can find our strong neodymium magnets in the corresponding category.