However, the material can be magnetized (made into a magnet) by placing it in a magnetic field. When this happens, all the magnetic domains line up, and the material becomes a magnet. Materials that can be magnetized are called ferromagnetic materials. They include iron, cobalt, and nickel.

To become magnetized, another strongly magnetic substance must enter the magnetic field of an existing magnet. When you rub a piece of iron along a magnet, the north-seeking poles of the atoms in the iron line up in the same direction. The force generated by the aligned atoms creates a magnetic field.

When a piece of unmagnetized iron (or other ferromagnetic material) is exposed to an external magnetic field, two things happen. First, the direction of magnetization (the way the spins point) of each domain will tend to shift towards the direction of the field.

Materials that can be magnetized, which are also the ones that are strongly attracted to a magnet, are called ferromagnetic (or ferrimagnetic). These include the elements iron, nickel and cobalt and their alloys, some alloys of rare-earth metals, and some naturally occurring minerals such as lodestone.

Take two magnets put one North pole and one South pole on the middle of the iron. Draw them towards its ends, repeating the process several times. Take a steel bar, hold it vertically, and strike the end several times with a hammer, and it will become a permanent magnet.

Magnetism in metals is created by the uneven distribution of electrons in atoms of certain metal elements. The irregular rotation and movement caused by this uneven distribution of electrons shift the charge inside the atom back and forth, creating magnetic dipoles.

Magnetic materials are always made of metal, but not all metals are magnetic. Iron is magnetic, so any metal with iron in it will be attracted to a magnet. Most other metals, for example aluminium, copper and gold, are NOT magnetic. Two metals that aren’t magnetic are gold and silver.

Materials that are not attracted to a magnet like air, wood, plastic, brass, etc., have a permeability of, essentially, 1. There is no magnetism induced in them by an external magnetic field, and therefore, they are not attracted by a magnet.

It turns out, oil and bits of plastic both have the same polarity [a physical property that determines if a substance can be dissolved by or attract another]. In chemistry, like attracts like, which means non-polar things attract non-polar things.

Zaidi and colleagues at the University of Durham in 2004. PANiCNQ was the first magnetic polymer to operate at room temperature. So you can’t magnetise hydrogen, but you can magnetise some plastics that are specifically created for that.

Can you electrically charge stuff with plastic? Yes, this is possible. It’s called the triboelectric effect and it’s what you see when your socks get a electrostatic charge after being in the dryer.

The strips will move away or repel each other. Since both strips have extra electrons on them, they each have extra negative charge. Since the same charges repel one another, the strips move away from each other. Because like charges repel, the pieces of plastic repelled each other.

Having the same type of charge, they will repel. Charged and neutral objects always attract each other.

Because plastic is an insulator, the electrons cannot flow through it so they effectively get stuck there – they are static. In a metal, the electrons would get conducted away (e.g. back to the material they have come from).

Aluminium is a bad conductor of electricity and heat when compared to certain metals like silver, copper and gold. But in general, it is a pretty good conductor of heat and electricity.

Metals are elements that are good conductors of electric current and heat. They also tend to be shiny and bendable – like copper wire. Most metals are good thermal AND electrical conductors. Metals also generally have low specific heat (which means they heat up quickly).