ELI5: How magnets works?

Imagine everything is made of tiny, tiny spinning tops called electrons.

• These spinning tops are always moving.

Now, some materials, like iron, have electrons that are usually spinning in a messy, random way. They're all spinning in different directions. Because of this, their tiny magnetic forces cancel each other out.

But, in a magnet, something special happens.

• Most of the electrons are spinning in roughly the same direction.

This organized spinning creates a tiny little magnetic field around each electron. When lots and lots of electrons are spinning together, all those tiny fields add up to make a bigger, stronger magnetic field around the whole object – the magnet!

Think of it like this: imagine lots of kids pushing a swing. If they're all pushing at different times, the swing doesn't go very high. But if they all push together at the same time, the swing goes really high!

That magnetic field is an invisible force that pulls or pushes on other things.

• Opposite poles (north and south) attract – they want to stick together. Like when you put two magnets together and they snap!
• Like poles (north and north, or south and south) repel – they push each other away. Like when you try to force two magnets together and they resist.

That's why a magnet can stick to your fridge (if your fridge is made of something magnetic, like steel containing iron). The magnet's magnetic field pulls on the iron in the fridge. It's also why a compass works! The Earth is like a giant magnet, and the compass needle (which is a tiny magnet) aligns itself with Earth's magnetic field, pointing towards the North Pole.