Even if you cut a bar magnet in half, you won't be able to remove its poles. It will only result in the production of two magnets, each of which will have a north pole that is attracted to the south pole of the other magnet, and vice versa. Magnets are beneficial for a wide variety of tasks due to their inherent quality of attraction, which explains why they may be attached to everything from a refrigerator to a party invitation to being used in medical imaging. But where do these polar opposites come from? What is the function of the magnet's north and south poles? Magnets are considered to be "one of the deepest mysteries in physics." Even though magnets have been used by humans for thousands of years, there are still many things that scientists do not understand about how they function. The movement of electrons provides the simplest explanation for why magnets have poles to attract and repel magnetic fields. Atoms are the fundamental building blocks of all matter, including magnets. The positively charged nucleus of every atom is encircled by one or more electrons, which have a negative charge. Every one of these electrons produces its very own little magnetic field, which is referred to by researchers as a "spin." When a sufficient number of these weak magnetic fields are aligned in the same direction, the substance in question will acquire its own magnetic properties. The concept of the "spin" of an electron can be considered somewhat conceptual. Since it is much too small to be visible even with a microscope, the spinning of an electron has never been observed by human eyes. However, physicists are aware that electrons possess a magnetic field due to the fact that they have measured it. Additionally, if the electron were spinning, this field might be formed as a result of its motion. If you were to change the direction that the spin was going, the magnetic field would also change. When it is conceivable, electrons will pair up so that their spins will cancel each other out, which will result in an atom having no overall magnetism. On the other hand, this cannot take place in some elements like iron. Because of the quantity of electrons and the way they are arranged around the nucleus, every iron atom will have at least one unpaired electron, which will result in the production of a very weak magnetic field. These separate magnetic fields are pointing in a variety of unpredictable directions within a substance that has not been magnetized. In that state, they largely nullify each other out, which results in the material not being magnetic as a whole. However, if the conditions are correct, the minuscule magnetic fields that exist at the subatomic level can align themselves so that they point in the same direction. One way to think about this is as the difference between a throng of people who are aimlessly meandering about and a mob of people who have organized themselves and are all looking the same direction. Because the accumulation of these extremely minute magnetic fields results in a larger magnetic field, the material in question transforms into a magnet. Permanent magnets include a significant portion of the magnets utilized in day-to-day life, such as those found on refrigerators. Because of some external force, the magnetic fields of many of the atoms that make up the material have become permanently aligned in these materials. For example, this could have occurred as a result of the material being placed inside of a more intense magnetic field. Electricity is typically responsible for producing those more intense magnetic fields. Because magnetic fields are produced by the motion of electrical charges, electricity and magnetism are inextricably bound together at their most fundamental level. Because of this, an electron that is spinning will have a magnetic field. However, scientists also have the ability to harness electricity in order to produce extremely potent magnets. When a sufficient amount of current is passed through a coil of wire, a highly powerful magnetic field is produced, which continues to exist for as long as the current is flowing. In the field of physics research, these electromagnets are frequently utilized. In addition to that, you can find them in medical equipment like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices. The planet also possesses its very own magnetic field, which is what allows a compass needle to point in the right direction. The end of a magnet that, if it were allowed to spin freely, would point toward the north pole of the earth is what scientists mean when they refer to the north pole of a magnet. However, from a more scientific point of view, this indicates that the magnetic north pole on Earth is actually the magnetic south pole because like poles attract and opposing poles repel. It is generally accepted in the field of physics that the lines of the magnetic field create a complete loop by flowing forth from the north pole of the magnet and back into the south pole of the magnet. Physicists have also discovered alternative configurations of magnetic poles, such as quadrupoles, in which both north and south magnetic poles are combined and organized in a square pattern. But there is still a challenge to overcome: no one has yet discovered a magnetic monopole. Electrons and protons are examples of electric monopoles, which means that each of these subatomic particles carries only a single electric charge, which can be either positive or negative. However, electrons and other particles share a characteristic in that they have two magnetic poles. The fact that they are fundamental particles also means that they cannot be subdivided any further. This disparity between the way particles act electrically and magnetically has piqued the interest of a great deal of scientists, and some of them view the discovery of a particle that possesses a single magnetic pole as the holy grail of their field. The physical rules that we currently comprehend could be called into question if this phenomenon was discovered.