Ways to Use Magnets

• Magnets can be used in a number of innovative ways. Will you marry me image by Blue Moon from Fotolia.com

  Magnets are some of the most versatile things in the world. While the majority of people are unaware of it, magnets are found all around us, from the refrigerator door to the credit cards in our wallet. Magnets have even been shown to reduce swelling in rats and to relieve pain in the muscles and joints.

Magnetic Therapy

• Magnets have been shown to decrease swelling in rats. kiss of rats image by Olga Barbakadze from Fotolia.com

  While the therapeutic benefits of magnets continue to be investigated, magnets have been employed as therapeutic devices for centuries. The ancient Chinese applied magnetic stones at sites now targeted in acupuncture, and doctors of the medieval eras used magnets at a treatment for everything from baldness to feelings of melancholy. Most recently, magnets have been shown to reduce swelling in the hind-quarters of rats by up to 50 percent, while magnets continue to be used in modern X-ray and MRI machines.

Magnets in Electronics

• Magnets help produce images on television and computer screens. rural landscape on flat screen tv image by javarman from Fotolia.com

  Chances are you had no idea that magnets in your television are what allow you to perceive an image on the screen. The secret to creating a televised image is employing powerful electromagnets able to deflect electrons sideways and downward, as opposed to straight ahead. Similarly, computer disks and videotapes are coated with a material containing thousands of tiny magnetic fields able to store information --- much like a credit card --- while computer screens project images in the same way as your television screen. Magnets are also found in headphones, stereo speakers, corded telephones, refrigerator seals, doorbell ringers and microwave tubes.

Magnets in Industry

• In industrial settings, magnets are used to sort and separate materials, such as metal from ore in the mining industry. Magnets are also used to pull materials from the ocean floor and to remove harmful materials, such as small iron particles, from manufactured foods.

Magnets in Education

• Encourage wordplay with magnet art. three letters "abc" isolated on the white image by Elnur from Fotolia.com

  Many parents and educators use magnetized letters and words to encourage wordplay among children. While magnetized letters allow children to form several different words in a manual, hands-on fashion, magnetized words call attention to the various components of sentences, such as subjects, objects, verbs and conjunctions. You can try this in your own home by splattering the side of your refrigerator with magnet art --- tiny magnetized words, available for sale in commercialized packets --- and encouraging your children to come up with interesting or simply entertaining phrases and sentences.