Uses of Magnets

  Magnets are widely used and welcomed in our modern era of technology due to their properties. They are defined as any objects with a magnetic field that attracts ferrous objects such as iron or steel not leaving out the ability to attract or repel one another.

  Magnets exist by the cause of the rotation of electrons in an atom.  The negatively -charged particles in an atom are aligned in pairs where none of the electrons in the pairs rotate in the same direction, neutralizing the charges. However, in ferrous metals, with Pauli’s Exclusion Principle, unpaired electrons with the same rotation are absent of charges to cancel out the forces thus, generating an orbital magnetic moment.

  In a health perspective, magnets had contributed to better ways of treatments with more speed, guarantees and precision, fulfilling the aims of the health industry. The usage of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) applies to the theory of the making of a magnet. The patient being located in the center of the MRI scanning machine also known as the center of the magnetic flow, influencing the nuclei of particles of the body to temporarily generate its own magnetic field. This allows doctors to perform 2D or 3D scans which generates clear images, which permits the doctor to analyze not only the bone structure, but also other vital parts of the body such as the heart or lungs, reducing the risks of surgery and make abnormalities easier to be detected. In my opinion, this technology allows more effective scans but with lesser harm. Regular x-rays emit direct radiation to the body, causing more harm to the body killing large amount of cells.

  Besides of that, magnets are found in our everyday life as they are so involved in the advancement of technology. Most of the electronic appliances contain magnets. Televisions contain magnets where they direct and distribute the electrons around the screen. Millions of electronic data are stored and kept with the help of magnets too. These magnets are responsible for recording the various patterns of electromagnetic waves. Without magnets, we would not be able to enjoy the privileges of what the electronic devices had brought us and technology will not advance in such speed.

   With the large demand for recycling metals for the environment and the manufacturing requirements of pure substances, magnets are used to extract the metals from their ores, and also to sort out magnetic and non-magnetic substances for recycling.  It saves the operation cost and also increases the efficiency as the workers are not required to hand-pick the metals from the trash, with the risk of mistakes and errors that might damage the machinery.

  Although the creations of technology in the industrial field had decreased the job opportunities, we have to accept the fact that the creations had reduced the amount of work done by humans. However, magnets has too increased the job rate by the manufacturing of new technological products, and this tells us that instead of focusing on jobs that can be done by machines, we should increase the number of jobs that requires human intelligence- for now, before we have the help of the machines.

References:

1.       "How Magnets Work!" How Magnets Work. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2013. <http://www.howmagnetswork.com/>.

2.       "How Magnets Work." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2013. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/magnet3.htm>.

3.       "How MRI Works." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2013. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/mri.htm>.

4.       "How Television Works." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2013. <http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/tv3.htm>.

5.       "Industrial Uses of Magnets." Industrial Uses of Magnets. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2013. <http://www.howmagnetswork.com/uses.html>.