The ratchety fridge magnet conundrum

pinno

My daughter aged 20 months loves playing with these fridge magnets. They are the flat sort, not the one's with battery shape magnets impressed into a piece of plastic.



I discovered something unusual whilst she had a cat nap at full throttle which ended in the most beautiful heap on the floor with no design or deliberation whatsoever.
Now, get two identical fridge magnets of the flat type and face them back to back (black to black, I hear a song coming on) and if you slide them apart gently laterally (with the magnets horizontal to you and slding left and right), you get quite an even resistance.

Now do it with the magnets vertically and slide them apart left and right. I am not going to tell you what happens, its up to you to get on yer pins and have a go (put yer pint down Cleat and go rob the local kindergarten ).

Very interesting result I think you'll find, but why ?

neiltb

multipole magnet sheet, goes something like this

nsnsnsnsnsns
nsnsnsnsnsns
nsnsnsnsnsns
etc

part of the manufacturing process, the skip you get if you look at the 2 surfaces, pushes the magnets away when likee poles are opposite, then pulls them back in as you get to opposite poles.

opposites attract and all that.

pinno

Ah ah ! Finally an anorak comes up with the solution !