Permanent magnet

Bring two permanent magnets close together and the poles facing one another determine what happens. Two like poles—north facing north or south facing south—repel, pushing the magnets apart. Two unlike poles—north facing south—attract, pulling them together.

Some materials keep much of the alignment and make good permanent magnets. Others lose most of it readily, so they are suitable for temporary magnetism.

A permanent magnet has two poles, called north (N) and south (S). If two bar magnets are brought near each other, the poles facing across the gap determine what happens. An N pole facing an S pole attracts: the magnets move towards one another.

If two permanent magnets are brought close together, each exerts a force on the other without touching it, so magnetic attraction and repulsion are examples of non-contact forces.