How do magnets work and why do they attract or repel?

Magnets are like tiny invisible helpers that can pull or push things without touching them.

Imagine you have two magnetic toys, one red and one blue. If you put them together with the same color side, they push each other away. But if you turn one around so different colors meet, they pull together like best friends wanting to hug.

Inside a magnet, there are tiny parts called magnet domains, which act like little magnets themselves. When these tiny magnets all line up in the same direction, the whole magnet becomes strong and can attract or repel other magnets.

Think of a magnet as having two teams: one team is on the top, and the other is on the bottom. The top team likes to say “hello” to the bottom team of another magnet, that’s why they pull together. But if the same team meets up with another same team, they say “no way!” and push each other away.

So magnets work by having these tiny helpers inside them, and depending on how they line up, they can either attract or repel other magnets, just like your favorite toys!