Identify the direction in which a thin long piece of magnet comes to r...
When suspended freely, a thin long piece of magnet comes to rest nearly in the geographical north-south direction. When placed in a non-uniform magnetic field, it tends to move from weaker to stronger magnetic field.
Identify the direction in which a thin long piece of magnet comes to r...
Explanation:
When a thin long piece of magnet is suspended freely, it aligns itself in the north-south direction. This is due to the Earth's magnetic field and the magnetic properties of the magnet.
Earth's Magnetic Field:
The Earth acts like a giant bar magnet with its magnetic field lines oriented from the geographic north pole to the geographic south pole. This means that the Earth's magnetic field lines are in a north-south direction.
Magnetic Properties of the Magnet:
A magnet has two poles, a north pole and a south pole. The north pole of a magnet is attracted to the Earth's magnetic south pole, and the south pole of a magnet is attracted to the Earth's magnetic north pole. This means that the north pole of a magnet will point towards the Earth's geographic north pole and the south pole of a magnet will point towards the Earth's geographic south pole.
Alignment of the Magnet:
When a thin long piece of magnet is suspended freely, it aligns itself with the Earth's magnetic field. The north pole of the magnet points towards the Earth's geographic north pole, and the south pole of the magnet points towards the Earth's geographic south pole. This alignment happens because the north pole of the magnet is attracted to the Earth's magnetic south pole and vice versa.
Conclusion:
Based on the above explanation, when a thin long piece of magnet is suspended freely, it comes to rest in the north-south direction. Therefore, option 'B' - North-South is the correct answer.