The Earth's Magnetic Field (Oxford AQA IGCSE Physics)

The Earth's Magnetic Field

• On Earth, in the absence of any magnet or magnetic materials, a magnetic compass will always point north

  • This is evidence that the core of the Earth is magnetic and creates its own magnetic field

• The Earth's magnetic field is similar to that of a bar magnet

  • It is most concentrated at the magnetic north and south poles

Earth's magnetic field

• On Earth, the north arrow on a magnetic plotting compass will point towards the geographic North Pole (in the Arctic Ocean)

  • This is because the geographic North Pole is a magnetic south pole

  • The north pole of a magnetic compass is attracted to the Earth's magnetic south pole, a.k.a the Earth's geographic North Pole

• The geographic South Pole (in Antarctica) is a magnetic north pole

  • The magnetic field lines point out of the pole

  • The north pole of the magnetic compass is repelled from the Earth's magnetic north pole and thus points away from the geographic South Pole

Earth's geographic and magnetic poles