Schematic illustration of a horseshoe magnet.

Magnet Strength

Which Is More Powerful, a Bar Magnet or a Horseshoe Magnet?

 

Materials

  • paper clips
  • bar magnet
  • horseshoe magnet (about the same size as the bar magnet)

Try This

  1. Pick up as many paper clips as you can with the bar magnet.
  2. Count the number of paper clips the magnet picked up.
  3. Pick up as many paper clips as you can with the horseshoe magnet.
  4. Count the number of paper clips the magnet picked up. Which magnet picked up more paper clips?
Schematic illustration of a bar magnet, a few paper clips, and a horseshoe magnet.

What's Going On?

The horseshoe magnet picked up more paper clips. The horseshoe magnet can pick up about three times as much weight as a bar magnet of the same size because its two poles are so close together that their attractive power is combined.

Schematic illustration of paper clips attracted and placed on both the bar magnet and the horseshoe magnet.