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Magnetic Repulsion

Magnetic repulsion is the push you feel when you hold two magnets with the same poles facing each other.

Think of it this way

Hold two fridge magnets so the same ends face each other. Push them close and you feel a strong force shoving them apart. The harder you push, the harder they push back. No matter what you do, those matched ends refuse to touch.

Explaining magnetic repulsion by grade level

Hold two magnets with the same ends close together. You feel them push apart. Flip one magnet around and they snap together. The push happens because the same poles do not want to be near each other.

Projects that explore magnetic repulsion

Magnetic Levitation Train

When like poles face each other, they push apart. That push is strong enough to float a foam-core platform above a wooden track lined with magnetic strips. You build the track with magnet strips along both edges and matching magnets on the underside of the platform, all north poles facing the same way. The platform hovers about a quarter inch up. Give it a gentle push and it glides smoothly from end to end, bouncing back off disk magnets that act as bumpers at each end.

Medium