Probing fridge magnets
In this activity, students investigate the pattern of magnetic fields on a fridge magnet. This will give them an idea of the principle behind scanning probe and magnetic force microscopes.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
briefly explain how a magnetic force microscope works
understand that the probe in a magnetic force microscope senses changes in the magnetic structure of the surface at the atomic level
create an image of the magnetic structure of a fridge magnet.
Download the Word file for:
introduction/background notes
what you need
what to do
student handout.
Related content
Nanoscience explained provides an overview of nanotechnology – its history and some future possibilities in the nanotechnology field.
Seeing atoms explains how powerful microscopes have opened up this field of research.
Find out more about how microscopes magnify and The microscopic scale. These videos look at how scanning tunnelling microscope and atomic force microscopes work.
Introducing magnetism curates our resources on this concept.
Activity idea
Seeing the invisible – in this activity, students collect and record data and use it to create 2D and 3D images of an unseen surface. They will then understand some of the processes involved in mapping the unknown.
