Magnets are probably the coolest "everyday" object you are introduced to as a child, and they don't get any less awesome when you learn they can generate electricity, and magnetism and electricity are both components of a single electromagnetic force . The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Every macro object, from actual magnets to Danny DeVito, is a little magnetic thanks to the spin of their electrons generating magnetic dipole moments, like teeny tiny magnets. In most materials these spins are not aligned and cancel each other out, leaving you with little net magnetic charge. But in magnetic materials they can align in the same direction and the result is a magnet, with a magnetic field and north and south poles.

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