Examples of Magnetic Fields: 3 Easy Iron Filings Experiments You Can Do at Home

Starting With Real Examples of Magnetic Fields

Before touching any iron filings, it helps to anchor these experiments to everyday life. When people ask for examples of magnetic fields, the best examples are often hiding in plain sight:

• A fridge magnet holding up a photo.
• The speaker in your phone or laptop.
• The magnetic strip on a credit card.
• The Earth’s own magnetic field guiding compasses.
• The strong magnets inside an MRI scanner in a hospital.
• Induction cooktops heating metal pans while the surface stays relatively cool.

These are all real examples of magnetic fields doing useful work. In each case, there’s an invisible region around a magnet or an electric current where other magnetic materials feel a force. That region is the magnetic field.

Iron filings are like little reporters. Each tiny piece lines up with the field at its location, giving you a visible map of that invisible pattern. The examples of magnetic fields: 3 easy iron filings experiments below are designed so you can see how these patterns change with different magnets and with electric current.

Experiment 1: Classic Bar Magnet – The Clearest Example of a Magnetic Field

If you want the cleanest, most textbook-style example of a magnetic field, start with a single bar magnet.

What you’ll need

• 1–2 bar magnets (preferably labeled N and S)
• Iron filings (a small jar or packet)
• A sheet of white paper or thin plastic
• Tape (optional)
• Small brush or piece of stiff paper for cleanup

Setup and procedure

Lay the bar magnet flat on a table. Place the sheet of paper on top, so the magnet is underneath. If the paper slides around easily, tape the corners down.

Gently sprinkle iron filings over the area where the magnet sits. Start with a light dusting; you can always add more. Then, tap the paper lightly with your finger. The iron filings will begin to jump and slide into curved lines.

What you’re seeing is one of the simplest examples of magnetic fields: the pattern around a bar magnet. The filings trace out the field lines, which seem to emerge from the north pole, curve through space, and re-enter at the south pole.

What to look for

Watch for these specific details:

• Dense clusters of filings near the poles: This shows where the field is strongest.
• Curved arcs between the poles: These arcs give you a visual example of how field lines loop from north to south.
• Thinner spread near the middle: The field is still there, but weaker than at the poles.

If you flip the magnet over, the pattern doesn’t really change. That’s a nice reminder that magnetic fields don’t care which side is touching the paper; they surround the magnet in all directions.

Real-world connections

This bar magnet experiment is a stand-in for several real examples:

• Earth’s magnetic field: The Earth behaves a bit like a giant bar magnet. Compasses line up with its field just as filings line up with your magnet. NASA has excellent explanations and visualizations of Earth’s magnetic field at nasa.gov.
• Refrigerator magnets: The pattern is more complex in real fridge magnets, but the basic idea is the same: a strong field near the surface, weaker farther away.

Already, you’ve got one of the clearest examples of magnetic fields: 3 easy iron filings experiments would feel incomplete without this classic setup.

Experiment 2: Current-Carrying Wire – Turning Electricity Into Magnetism

Magnets aren’t the only way to make a magnetic field. An electric current is another powerful example of how magnetic fields appear. In this experiment, you’ll see that a simple wire with current creates a circular field.

What you’ll need

• Insulated copper wire (about 2–3 feet)
• A fresh 1.5 V AA battery or a low-voltage DC supply (3–6 V)
• Iron filings
• A sheet of stiff paper or thin cardboard
• Electrical tape or clips
• Safety glasses

Safety first

You’re making a basic electromagnet setup, so:

• Only use low voltages (1.5–6 V).
• Do not leave the wire connected to the battery for more than a few seconds at a time; it can heat up.
• Wear safety glasses so filings can’t get in your eyes.

For more background on safe handling of small electrical setups in classrooms, you can look at general lab safety guidance from the National Institutes of Health at nih.gov.

Setup and procedure

Shape the wire into a straight section that passes vertically through the middle of your paper. You can poke a small hole in the paper and thread the wire up through it so the wire stands vertically.

Lay the paper flat so the wire sticks up in the center. Sprinkle iron filings in a ring around the wire on the paper.

Now briefly connect the ends of the wire to the battery (one end to the positive terminal, one to the negative). Tap the paper gently.

You should see the filings arrange themselves in roughly circular patterns around the wire. If you disconnect the battery, the pattern relaxes. Reconnect, and the circular pattern returns.

This is a powerful example of a magnetic field created by electric current. The field wraps around the wire like invisible rings.

What to look for

As you repeat this a few times, notice:

• The filings form concentric circles around the wire.
• The pattern appears only when current flows.
• If you reverse the battery connections, the direction of the field changes, but the filings still form circles.

If you’re comfortable, you can extend this into a coil (a solenoid). Wrap the wire into a tight spiral, lay it under the paper, and repeat the experiment. The filings now show a field that looks more like the bar magnet from Experiment 1. That’s a strong example of how a coil with current behaves like a magnet.

Real-world connections

This experiment connects directly to:

• Electromagnets in scrapyards lifting cars.
• Electric motors in fans, power tools, and electric vehicles.
• Transformers in power grids, which use changing currents and magnetic fields to step voltages up or down.

These are some of the best examples of magnetic fields created by currents, and they’re at the heart of modern technology. The U.S. Department of Energy has accessible explanations of how electric motors use magnetic fields at energy.gov.

Experiment 3: Multiple Magnets – Interfering Fields and Complex Patterns

Once you’ve seen the simple patterns, it’s time for something more interesting: what happens when more than one magnet is present? This is where you get some of the best examples of how magnetic fields interact.

What you’ll need

• 2–4 bar magnets or strong disk magnets
• Iron filings
• A sheet of paper or thin plastic
• Tape (optional)

Setup and procedure

Place two bar magnets under the paper, a few inches apart, with their north poles facing each other. Sprinkle iron filings over the top and tap gently.

You’ll see a more complicated pattern than before. Between the two north poles, the filings may show a kind of “no-go zone” where the field lines bend away from each other. That region is where the fields from each magnet are opposing and partially canceling.

Now rotate one magnet so that a north pole faces a south pole. Repeat the filings. Suddenly, you get a dense bridge of filings connecting the two magnets, showing the field lines running strongly from north to south.

Try different configurations:

• Two magnets end-to-end (N to S).
• Two magnets side-by-side with like poles together.
• A triangle of three magnets.
• Four small disk magnets arranged in a square.

Each arrangement gives you another example of a magnetic field pattern, and these multiple-magnet setups are some of the best examples of how fields can reinforce or oppose each other.

What to look for

Pay attention to:

• Where filings are densest: This shows strong fields, often where magnets reinforce each other.
• Where filings thin out or leave gaps: These are spots where fields oppose and weaken each other.
• Curved, looping lines that seem to bend around the magnets: These loops are real examples of how field lines re-route when something else is in the way.

You can sketch what you see, marking where the magnets are and drawing arrows from north to south. You’re essentially building your own field maps.

Real-world connections

These interacting patterns mirror:

• Magnetic shielding in sensitive electronics, where materials are arranged to redirect fields away from delicate components.
• MRI room design, where hospitals use layers of materials and magnet configurations to contain extremely strong fields safely. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at nibib.nih.gov explains how MRI systems rely on controlled magnetic fields.
• Magnetic storage (like older hard drives), where tiny regions on a disk are magnetized in different directions, and nearby fields have to be managed carefully so they don’t interfere.

These multi-magnet layouts are underrated but very real examples of magnetic fields interacting, and they’re a nice way to round out our examples of magnetic fields: 3 easy iron filings experiments theme.

Extending the 3 Easy Iron Filings Experiments

Once you’ve tried these three, you can start playing with variations to build even more examples of magnetic fields without needing fancy equipment.

Example: Comparing magnet strengths

Use different kinds of magnets: ceramic bar magnets, small neodymium disk magnets, and flexible fridge magnets. Keep the paper and filings the same, and compare:

• How far from the magnet the filings still respond.
• How tightly packed the filings are near the surface.

This gives you a clear example of how stronger magnets create stronger, more extended fields.

Example: Mapping Earth’s magnetic field indoors

Place a compass on the table and slowly move a bar magnet closer from different directions. Watch how the compass needle shifts between aligning with Earth’s field and the magnet’s field. This is a subtle but powerful real example of two magnetic fields competing: Earth’s large but weak field, and the magnet’s small but strong field.

Example: Temperature and magnetism

With adult supervision and proper safety, gently warm a small magnet with warm (not boiling) water sealed in a plastic bag near it, or leave one magnet in a sunny window and another in a cool spot. Compare the filings patterns. Strong magnets can weaken slightly with heat, giving you a more advanced example of how temperature affects magnetic fields.

Researchers studying magnetism at universities and national labs continue to explore how temperature, material structure, and even quantum effects change magnetic behavior. While your home experiments are simple, they echo the same basic physics used in cutting-edge research.

2024–2025: Why These Simple Magnetic Field Examples Still Matter

Even in 2024–2025, with quantum computers and advanced medical imaging in the news, these basic examples of magnetic fields are still at the heart of modern technology.

Recent trends include:

• Electric vehicles (EVs): EV motors rely on powerful permanent magnets and carefully designed magnetic fields to convert electrical energy into motion.
• Wind turbines and renewable energy: Generators use rotating magnetic fields to produce electricity from wind or water flow.
• High-field MRI research: Hospitals and labs are pushing to higher magnetic field strengths for sharper images, which demands precise control of complex field patterns.

If you understand what’s happening in these 3 easy iron filings experiments, you’re already grasping the same field concepts that engineers and scientists use in these newer technologies. The setups on your table are simple, but they are direct, small-scale, hands-on examples of magnetic fields in action.

FAQ: Common Questions About Iron Filings and Examples of Magnetic Fields

What are some everyday examples of magnetic fields?

Everyday examples of magnetic fields include fridge magnets, the speakers in your phone or laptop, electric motors in fans and appliances, the magnetic stripe on credit cards, and Earth’s magnetic field that makes compasses work. All of these are real examples where magnetic fields cause forces or guide moving charges.

Is it safe to do these iron filings experiments at home or in class?

Yes, if you take basic precautions: keep filings away from eyes and mouth, avoid strong magnets near electronics or medical implants, and clean up carefully. Use low-voltage batteries for current experiments and limit connection time so wires don’t overheat. For general lab-style safety habits, resources from agencies like the NIH at nih.gov are a good reference.

Why do iron filings show the shape of the magnetic field?

Each filing is like a tiny bar magnet when it’s near a field. The filings rotate and move until they line up along the direction of the magnetic field at their location. The pattern they form is a visible example of a magnetic field map: dense where the field is strong, sparse where it’s weak.

Do magnetic field lines actually exist, or are they just a drawing trick?

Field lines are a model, not physical strings. They help us visualize the direction and strength of the field. When you use iron filings, you’re seeing many tiny magnets align along these directions. That makes filings experiments one of the best examples of how useful the field-line model is, even though the lines themselves aren’t physical objects.

Can these 3 easy iron filings experiments help with school science projects?

Absolutely. Teachers and students often use these setups as clear, visual examples of magnetic fields: 3 easy iron filings experiments can easily become the core of a science fair project. You can compare different magnet types, study distances, or explore how adding more magnets changes the pattern. As long as you document your setup and observations carefully, you’ll have strong experimental evidence for your project.

If you walk away with only one thing, let it be this: the invisible world of magnetic fields is not abstract or distant. With a few magnets, some iron filings, and a bit of curiosity, you can build your own gallery of examples of magnetic fields right on your kitchen table or classroom desk.