Topic summary
Magnetic force
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Force between magnets.
Magnetic force due to non-uniform magnetic field
Magnets are drawn along the magnetic field gradient. The simplest example of this is the attraction of opposite poles of two magnets. Every magnet produces a magnetic field that is stronger near its poles. If opposite poles of two separate magnets are facing each other, each of the magnets is drawn into the stronger magnetic field near the pole of the other. If like poles are facing each other, though, they are repulsed from the larger magnetic field.