Answer to Question #142033 in Physics for Naim

Question

5. Draw the magnetic field patterns around a bar magnet, a horseshoe magnet, and the planet Earth (focus on the pole found near Canada). What is the advantage of the horseshoe magnet? (Why go to all the trouble of bending a bar magnet into a horseshoe shape?)

Answer 1

The advantage of the horseshoe magnet is that there is almost no significant field at the bend. It is all near the poles. Magnets (especially strong ones such as neodymium) are usually made of fragile materials, so it is usually impossible to bend a bar magnet and obtain a horseshoe magnet. Horseshoe magnets are made on a factory and then magnetized by an external field to have their own magnetic field.