Shadowing Practice: The Amazing Power of Magnets | SciShow Kids Compilation - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Oh hi!
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Oh hi!
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Squeaks and I were just playing with magnets.
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Watch this.
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I know, right?
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Magnets are kind of amazing.
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Squeaks has so many questions about magnets.
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Let's start with what they're made of and what they can do do.
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This is one of my favorite toys!
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All I have to do is hold them like this,
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and they stick together without any glue or tape.
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Maybe you have a toy like ours,
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one that has parts that stick together,
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or maybe you have letters that stick to your refrigerator or a whiteboard.
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But did you ever wonder why they don't just fall to the ground?
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Well, it's because they use magnets.
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A magnet is something that can put a special kind of force on something else.
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A force can be a push or a pull.
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A lot of the time,
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we think about a magnet as attracting or pulling on something else.
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The magnets that are in my toy pull on or attract this little ball,
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and when they get close enough,
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they stick to each other.
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If you have a magnet at home,
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you can see how it attracts this kind of a paperclip.
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If I move the magnet slowly toward the paperclip,
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the magnet pulls on the paperclip until the two objects are completely stuck together.
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And once they're stuck, they stay stuck until I put a force of my own on the paperclip by pulling them apart.
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You might have noticed that I didn't even have to touch the magnet to the paperclip to get them to stick together.
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That's because there's an invisible area all around the magnet that can attract certain things,
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called the magnetic field.
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You can see how strong a magnet is by seeing how
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close you have to get to the object before the magnet starts to pull.
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If your magnet is pretty strong,
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it'll be able to pull objects that are farther away than weaker magnets.
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And a magnetic field can do some pretty neat things.
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Check this out.
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If I put my paper clip on top of this paper,
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and my magnet below the paper,
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I can move the paper clip without using my fingers at all!
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That's because the invisible magnetic field pulls on the paper clip right through the paper.
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Even though the magnet isn't actually touching the paper clip,
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it's still pulling on it.
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And that's enough to make the paperclip move.
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But just because something is attracted by a magnet,
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that doesn't mean it's a magnet itself.
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For example, we just saw that my magnet sticks to this paperclip,
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but the paperclip won't attract or stick to another paperclip.
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That's because it's the magnet that's special and doing the attracting.
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Now, magnets don't attract all things.
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For example, this magnet doesn't stick to me,
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but it does stick to Squeak's nose.
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The magnet also isn't attracted to the table.
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But we already know it attracts the paperclip!
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Hmm, I wonder what other things will stick to my magnet.
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Let's go find some stuff around the fort and do an experiment!
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OK, I have some spoons from the fort's kitchen.
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Let's play a game!
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I'll hold up a spoon,
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and you and Squeaks can guess if the magnet will attract it or not.
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First, let's try this wooden spoon.
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What do you think, Squeaks?
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Good guess!
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Let's try it!
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You're right!
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It doesn't attract the wood!
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OK, let's try this plastic spoon.
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What do you think, Squeaks?
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No again?
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Let's try.
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You're right again!
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Magnets don't attract plastic.
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OK, let's try our last one.
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What do you think?
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Is it going to stick?
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All right, let's try.
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Ah, they do!
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They stick!
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Look at that.
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So let's see.
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Of all the things we tried,
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the magnet was only attracted to Squeaks' face,
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the little tiny ball, the paperclip, and this spoon.
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And there's something they all have in common — something that makes them similar enough to be attracted to my magnet.
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What do you think it is, Squeaks?
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You're right!
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They are all made of metal!
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Things that are made of metal are usually pretty shiny,
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and they're often hard
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and kind of heavy for their size — like how the metal spoon is heavier than the plastic spoon,
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even though they're around the same size.
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A magnet attracts things that have metal in them,
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but only certain kinds of metal, not all kinds.
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Our magnet attracts this paper clip,
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but not this coin, even though they're both made of metal.
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One type of metal that is attracted to magnets is called iron.
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People use iron to make lots of different things,
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like fences and gates, some kinds of pots and pans,
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and lots of tools, like nails and screws.
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And when a magnet sticks to a fridge,
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that's because there's iron inside the door,
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even though you can't see it.
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People use metals like iron to make something else, too.
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Iron is one of a group of special metals that people can make into magnets.
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Iron can do both!
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It can be a magnet,
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and it can be attracted to a magnet.
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If you're curious about what other kinds of things are attracted to magnets,
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you can ask a grown-up to help you experiment.
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If you have a magnet,
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you can hold it up to different kinds of things,
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and see if you can guess what the magnet will attract.
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It's pretty cool that magnets can grab metal with an invisible force.
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But magnets can repel or push each other away,
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too, which allowed Squeaks and I to learn an awesome magnet trick!
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Oh, hi everyone!
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You're just in time!
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I've been working on some new experiments,
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and I'm so excited to show you my latest one!
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I can make this ordinary magnet float in the air!
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Thanks, Squeaks!
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I'm excited, too!
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Let's get started!
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All right, first, we take this marker and we stick it to the table.
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I'm using some modeling clay to make it stick.
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Next, I take one magnet ring and slide it down to the bottom of the marker.
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Now, very carefully, I take the next magnet ring and lower it down the marker until… Presto!
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A floating magnet!
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Squeaks, it's not exactly a magic trick.
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It's more like a magnet trick,
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because magnets can do all sorts of amazing things.
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Magnets are special objects made with metals.
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I bet you have some in your classroom or your home,
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like maybe stuck to a refrigerator,
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or whiteboard, or in a toy.
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And the important thing about magnets is they can make forces.
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A force is a push or a pull.
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And magnets can push or pull on things made with many kinds of metal,
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like paper clips or nails.
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That's why you sometimes see magnets stuck to refrigerators.
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They can pull so hard on the metal inside the refrigerator that they'll stick to it.
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We call things magnets pull on, like refrigerators, magnetic.
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And get this!
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Magnets don't even need to be touching something to push or pull on it!
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That's one of the things that makes magnets so cool!
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I agree!
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Magnets are really fun to play with!
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Now, testing to see if different things are magnetic can be fun by itself.
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But really interesting things happen when you put two magnets together.
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Check this out!
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Sometimes the magnets pull on each other,
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so they stick together really hard.
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But now, look what happens when I flip this magnet over.
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I can't push them together!
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It's just like my floating magnet experiment.
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The two magnets won't touch.
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It almost feels like they're pushing against each other.
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Oh, good question, Squeaks!
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Why does this happen?
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Well, magnets have two sides.
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We call them the North Pole and the South Pole.
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Exactly, Squeaks!
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It's a lot like the North and South Pole that you see on a map of the Earth.
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In fact, Earth is a giant magnet!
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But that's a different story,
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one we'll talk about soon.
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When I hold the North Pole of one magnet and the South Pole of another magnet near each other,
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each magnet makes a really strong force,
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and the two pull together.
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We say that they attract each other.
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They actually pull on each other pretty hard,
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so I'm being careful that they don't pinch my fingers.
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Now, when I hold two North poles together, the opposite happens.
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The magnets push against each other and won't stick.
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In other words, we say that the magnets repel each other.
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So different poles attract each other,
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and same poles repel each other.
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Hey, maybe that's why they say opposites attract.
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Oh, you've got it, Squeaks!
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In my experiment, the two magnets on the marker are repelling each other.
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This one has the North Pole facing up,
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and this one has the North Pole facing down.
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So the two push against each other.
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Right now, the side on the top is a South Pole.
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So if I wanted to add another floating magnet ring,
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which side should I put facing the other magnets?
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North or South?
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South Pole?
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Let's try it.
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You were right!
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Nice work, buddy!
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The matching sides are facing each other,
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so the magnets repel each other and float!
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You can use magnets to do all kinds of fun experiments!
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You could try this floating magnet ring experiment at home,
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or try something new!
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Maybe you could try attracting magnets to hold together sheets in a blanket fort,
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or you could try to balance things on repelling magnets!
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Aw, Squeaks, that's a fun idea!
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We could use magnets to put some art up on the fridge!
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We could start our own magnet art gallery!
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Humans aren't the only ones who use magnets.
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Animals like turtles use the Earth's magnetic field to find their way around.
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Our friend Dr. Turtleman stopped by to teach us just that.
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And then we'll head south after that.
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Hi everyone!
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Squeaks and I are going to take a hike through the woods.
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I heard there's a really pretty waterfall in the area,
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so we're planning a hike to check it out.
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Are you excited, Squeaks?
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Oh, are you okay?
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Oh, I see!
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Squeaks is a little bit worried that we might get lost in the woods.
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That's okay, Squeaks!
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Walking in the woods is a lot different than walking around the fort.
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But don't worry, we're going to take steps to make sure we don't get lost!
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That's why we're making a hiking plan before we leave,
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and part of that plan is to make sure we take along our trusty compass!
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We can use it to help us figure out which direction we're going,
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and keep us from getting lost.
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Hi, Chessie!
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Hi, Squeaks!
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Oh, look who it is!
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It's our friend, Dr. Turtleman!
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Oh, good idea, Squeaks!
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Dr. Turtleman does travel a lot.
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Maybe we can ask him what he does to keep from getting lost.
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If you've got questions about travel,
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I'm definitely the reptile to ask.
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Sea turtles take long trips every year, and I mean long!
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Some turtles swim thousands of kilometers across the ocean to find food,
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and we can find our way back home from anywhere in the world.
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You're right, Squeaks.
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There aren't any roads or trails for turtles to follow in the ocean.
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That's because we don't need them.
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Like many sea turtles, I can find my way around or navigate without following roads.
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I don't even need to use a map or a computer.
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Whoa, that's like a superpower.
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It's a science power, and the power has to do with magnets.
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You see, magnets have two ends called poles.
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And one end of a magnet is called the North Pole,
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the other is called the South Pole.
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And these poles can pull on each other.
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We call this pulling force magnetic attraction.
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Magnetic attraction is why you can use magnets to pick up some things made of metal,
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like paper clips.
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The magnets pull on them hard enough to pick them up.
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And we call anything that gets pulled by a magnet magnetic.
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Exactly!
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Now our Earth also kind of acts like a big magnet.
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It even has poles.
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And they can also pull on some things or attract them.
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That includes the needle on your compass because it's made out of a magnetic metal.
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So your compass needle points toward north because its ends are being pulled on by the Earth's magnetic poles.
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And that's why a compass is so helpful for finding your way around.
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That's right!
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And in a way, sea turtles like me carry a compass everywhere we go.
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Because we have something similar inside our heads.
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We have this stuff in our brains called magnetite.
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It's a kind of magnetic rock,
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so it gets pulled on by the Earth's magnetic poles,
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much like the needle of your compass.
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And because we have these teeny tiny bits of magnetite in our brains,
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we can always sense which way is north.
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And that really helps us find our way around.
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That's so cool!
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It is!
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This special sense even has a cool name.
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It's called magnetoreception.
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And turtles aren't the only ones that use it.
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Scientists think other kinds of animals use magnetoreception to help them get where they want to go,
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including birds, frogs, and dolphins.
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Compasses, whether inside or out,
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are just so great when you don't want to get lost.
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So what do you think, Squeaks?
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Do you feel a little bit better knowing we'll have a compass with us on our hike?
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I'm so glad!
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Thank you, Dr. Turtleman, for teaching us all about magnetoreception.
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You're welcome, Jessie!
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Have fun on your hike!
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Bye!
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You're right, Squeaks!
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It is amazing that turtles can navigate using magnetoreception.
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But we can sort of do the same thing with compasses.
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Remember when we learned to build one?
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Oh!
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Hi everyone!
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Squeaks is supposed to meet me here in the lab,
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but he's not here yet.
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I wonder what's taking him so long.
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I'm super excited to see him because he promised he'd show me his new magnet.
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Oh, there you are, Squeaks!
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Is everything okay?
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Oh, I see.
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Squeaks was trying out his new magnet by the river,
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and the path there is really long and windy.
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So it took him a while to find his way back to the fort.
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The river is directly south of here.
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If only you had had a compass,
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then you could have taken a shortcut.
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A compass, it's a tool that can tell you what direction you're going.
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And if you know what direction you're going,
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you can find your way around without getting lost.
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People have been using compasses for thousands of years to explore the world.
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They can be big or small, fancy or plain.
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But they have an important thing in common.
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They have some kind of arrow or needle that points north.
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So if we had a compass right now,
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its needle would point this way.
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Because that's north.
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In fact, we can use your magnet to make your own compass right here at the fort.
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What do you say, Squeaks?
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Alright, let's do it!
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You can make a compass too,
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just make sure you get a grown-up to help you.
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To make a compass, you'll need a sewing needle,
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a piece of aluminum foil,
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and a clear container of water with a flat bottom.
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Oh yes, and a magnet!
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Thanks, Squeaks!
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This is definitely where you'll want help from a grown-up.
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First, carefully pick up the sewing needle and hold it by the end that has the hole in it.
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Now, drag the magnet along the needle slowly from the end with the hole to the pointy end, like this.
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You'll need to do this about 15 or 20 times,
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and always make sure you're doing it the same way,
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from the hole end to the needle point.
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Next, we'll need to fold our foil into a little boat of sorts,
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and then poke the needle through it.
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Again, make sure a grown-up helps you with this.
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Trust me, poking your finger with the needle hurts.
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Now we're ready to finish our compass.
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All we have to do is gently float the foil on the water in our bowl.
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Wait a second, and… look!
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The needle turned, and it is now pointing north.
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We did it!
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Good question, Squeaks!
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But before I explain what happened in this experiment,
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let me explain how compasses work in general.
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The reason why a compass points north is really cool.
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It's because the pointy part inside is a magnet,
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and magnets have two ends called poles.
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One end of the magnet is called the North Pole,
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and the other is called the South Pole,
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no matter which direction they're facing.
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And opposite poles of two different magnets attract.
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That means they pull on each other.
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Meanwhile, similar poles repel each other.
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Repel means push away.
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Now here's the really awesome part.
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Our planet Earth is basically one huge magnet.
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So it also has magnetic poles.
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That means the Earth's poles act the same way that a magnet's poles do.
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They attract and repel the poles of other magnets.
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And they just
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so happen to line up pretty well with the parts of the planet we call the North and South Pole.
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You've got it!
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The Earth's magnetic poles pull and push a compass needle's magnetic poles,
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and that's what causes the compass to point north.
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So why do you think our sewing needle pointed north?
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That's right!
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I said the needle of a compass is a magnet,
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so… Yeah, that's it!
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Our sewing needle became a magnet!
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That first step we did,
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where we rubbed the needle with your magnet,
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actually magnetized the sewing needle.
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In other words, it turned it into a magnet.
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The pointy end became the north pole of a magnet,
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and the other end became the south pole.
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You know, Squeaks, you're absolutely right.
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It seems like the north pole of the Earth should repel the north pole of our compass needle.
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Here's the weird thing.
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The Earth's North magnetic pole is actually in the South,
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and its South magnetic pole is in the North.
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So the Earth's South magnetic pole is pulling the North pole of our needle to the North,
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and the Earth's North magnetic pole is pulling the South pole of our needle to the South.
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Which is weird and confusing, I know!
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But hey, I didn't name these things.
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Exactly, Squeaks!
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Since the Earth's magnetic poles are always pulling on the poles of other magnets,
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all we had to do to get our magnetized needle to
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point north was let it freely spin about in response to those forces.
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Which is what the foil and water were for.
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Cool, huh?
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Oh, whoa!
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Look at the time!
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We told Jessie we'd meet her in the garden to help pull weeds,
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so we better get going.
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And we'll look into getting you a compass that's a bit easier to carry around than this bowl.
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That way, you can make your way to and from the river a little quicker next time.
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I know one more trick we can do with magnets!
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Can you think of anything else that you can do with magnets?
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How many things can you find that they stick to?
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Thanks for joining us!
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If you want to have fun with me,
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Squeaks, and all of our friends,
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you can subscribe to SciShow Kids!
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I'll see you next time, here at the Fort!
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, learners will practice their English speaking and listening skills through a fascinating exploration of magnets, as showcased in the video "The Amazing Power of Magnets." By engaging with the content, you will enhance your vocabulary and comprehension while discovering how magnets work. This lesson provides an excellent opportunity to utilize the shadowing technique, whereby you'll mimic the speakers in real-time, improving your pronunciation and fluency. As you learn about the special forces magnets exert on objects, you’ll be able to grasp complex sentences and scientific vocabulary, ultimately aiding your journey to learn English with YouTube.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Magnet: A material that can create a magnetic field and attract certain objects.
- Attract: To pull objects toward each other using a magnetic force.
- Magnetic field: An invisible area around a magnet where its force can affect other objects.
- Force: A push or pull that can cause objects to move.
- Paperclip: A small metal clip that is attracted to magnets, often used to hold papers together.
- Stick together: To become attached or joined, usually without the use of glue or tape.
- Invisible: Something that cannot be seen, like the magnetic field around a magnet.
Practice Tips
To maximize your learning through this video, try the shadowspeak method. Start by watching segments of the video without trying to repeat anything. This will help you understand the material and familiarize yourself with the context. Next, play the video again, but this time pause it frequently to repeat phrases and sentences aloud. Pay attention to the speed and tone of the speaker. Since the video is designed for kids, the language is simpler and the tempo is manageable, making it a great option for learners of all levels.
Ensure you articulate words clearly and try to match the intonation and rhythm of the speaker. Shadow speech can dramatically improve your speaking skills over time. Aim to practice consistently for best results, and remember to utilize this shadowing site as a valuable resource for English language improvement. Have fun exploring the amazing power of magnets while enhancing your English skills!
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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