South-seeking Pole (Noun)
Meaning
The pole of a magnet that points toward the south when the magnet is suspended freely.
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
Examples
- The Earth's magnetic south pole is not exactly at the geographic South Pole, which can cause some confusion for navigation.
- When the compass is freely suspended, the south-seeking pole of the magnet will point towards the Earth's magnetic South Pole.
- In the northern hemisphere, the south-seeking pole of a magnet is the end that is attracted to the Earth's magnetic North Pole.
- A bar magnet's south-seeking pole will always be attracted to the north-seeking pole of another magnet.
- By defining the poles of a magnet as south-seeking and north-seeking, we can avoid confusion when describing the magnetic properties of materials.