Sorry for the noob question... Magnets-energy?

[ironizer]

Do magnets have energy, and if yes, can you get them to do work?

Sorry again for the n00b question..

[aommaster]

Well, its more complicated than it sounds, and no, its not a noob question.

 

When you place a magnet near a needle, for example, the needle moves towards the magnet. Therefore, you would think, it does work, and it does.

 

The magnet contains potential energy,which may have come from the big bang that goes into splitting the atoms of this needle and the magnet. When you make a magnet attract a needle, you are unleashing all this potential energy.

 

So, yes, it can be used to do work, as long as you give it the energy. But the magnet does not make its own energy, and therefore, can't be used in perpetual motion (which is where I think this topic is coming to )

[swansont]

Except that F= qv X B, so magnetic forces don't do work on charged particles. You'll always have a changing B inducing an electric field that does any work that might be done. It's not always obvious where this is happening.

 

Magnetic forces transfer energy from some other source - they generally can't be viewed as an energy source doing work. There are many perpetual motion inventor wanna-be's that don't undertsand this.

[qrasy]

I think of some sort of magnetic potential... It has to do with agnetic dipole..

 

Yeah, it has some potential that can "give" energy but returning to initial condition may "take" energy (converted to potential).

[aommaster]

The potential energy that you give it either comes from the big bang (as I stated earlier) or if the object and the magnet were already stuck together, the energy comes from splitting them apart

[ironizer]

so you can't like "make a motor" or something and produce energy with a magnet...

[aommaster]

No, unless the magnet has been given the potential energy to give out that energy, it is not possible. This is the main flaw in most perpetual machines. Many people see that a magnet is a source of energy, which it isn't.

 

A magnet, you can think of it, is a way of storing energy, like a battery. This is done by pulling the metal object stuck to it away from it, like a spring!

[thorN]

In the case of turbines in power stations, it's the magnets that are inducing the current. However, the source of energy is the boiling water that is moving the magnets (giving them kinetic energy).

[poolsat]

I posted you rquestion on helpmesearchfor.com

http://solitech.dtdns.net/search/index.php?link=detail&id=192http://solitech.dtdns.net/search/index.php?link=detail&id=192

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