bar magnet

American  

noun

1. a bar-shaped, usually permanent, magnet.

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Etymology

Origin of bar magnet

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

If the interior is electrically conducting, a thick layer of convecting material will generate a dipole magnetic field similar to that of a bar magnet.

From Science Daily • Nov. 25, 2024

To magnetize an iron nail, one simply has to stroke its surface several times with a bar magnet.

From Science Daily • Dec. 7, 2023

Because Earth’s magnetic field is dipolar like a bar magnet and aligned roughly perpendicular to our world’s rotation, geomagnetic field lines extend most prominently from the vicinity of our planet’s North and South poles.

From Scientific American • Oct. 13, 2023

During the sun’s quiet periods — solar activity varies on an 11-year cycle, from comparatively calm to hyperactive — the sun’s magnetic field possesses this bar magnet configuration.

From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2023

Miss M. holds a bar magnet by its two ends.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 377, March 1847 by Various