Balancing a tetrahedral magnet...please enlighten?

[Gill Simo]

As magnetism is a force then I assume this force will always wish to balance itself out?
If I take a ring magnet with two faces, one north, one south & break it into three equal 120 degree segments then each segment will now have a north & south at its ends, no longer its two faces...I think?
Same in reverse should I join the three back together.
If that is indeed so then might somebody be able to explain how the magnetic forces in a tetrahedron balance out please?
However one attempts to construct a tetrahedron with six regular rod magnets it must always result in two vertices being north dominant, two south.
Arranged as shown then triangle 1 appears as per the three joined segments mentioned above.... N/S, N/S, N/S...presumably then having internal/external faces now N/S.
Likewise triangle 2...but not so triangles 3 & 4.
If the external face of 1 is north then what of 2...same or opposite?....and what on Earth might the faces of 3 & 4 be exactly?
In terms of balanced magnetic forces...what arrangement magnetically balances this tetrahedron at its centre?
I'm not trying to introduce anything...I simply don't know & hope for someone to explain please.
Gill

[Zhyyra]

Gill wrote:

If I take a ring magnet with two faces, one north, one south & break it into three equal 120 degree segments then each segment will now have a north & south at its ends, no longer its two faces...I think?
Same in reverse should I join the three back together.

Not so Gill. As far as I can remember the magnetic field direction does not change when a magnet is broken. The north and south will remain at the faces of your three 120 degree segments.
I think the only way to change the direction of the magnetic field is to de-magnetize the material and then re-magnetize it in a different direction.
You might want to do a little bit of research tho, to check up on what I'm saying.

Zhy

[agor95]

Hi Gill Simo

It's good to see you back in the forum. I was concern for your welfare.

To help iron atoms do two thing that conflict with each other.

1. The iron atoms create crystals when they solidify.

2. Each atoms have electrons around the nucleus. The electrons pair up so one spins clockwise and the other spins anti-clockwise. The spin creates magnetism. Most atoms have balanced pairs. However two electrons in iron spin in the same direction. Thus iron is magnetic.

So the crystals grow and when they get to big the magnetic field prevents it's growth. Then a new crystal grows aligned differently to the first.

These small crystals are called domains and each crystal is a North/South magnet.

A block of iron is always trying to align the domains to cancel the magnetic field.

So my best advice just configure your design as if you have small North/South bar magnets.

P.S. Use steel ball bearings at each vortex.

Regards