Magnets are here, there and everywhere and a lot of the time we don’t even realise it. For instance, in the smartphone or other electronic devise that you are reading this post on, there will be magnets hard at work. In this blog post, we will reveal where magnets sit in various applications that you use everyday! You’ll never use them again without thinking of the unsung hero, the magnet.
*round of applause for the magnet*
via GIPHY
Often in applications, magnets are hidden due to their natural position. An example of this is in a car’s seat belt detection system. All you see is the belt but within the system, there are clever magnets telling the computer if the passenger or driver is wearing their belt! Cool right? Whereas in some cases, magnets need to be inconspicuous like when a magician performs a trick. They need the magnet to remain hidden as they dazzle their audience.
So, here are a few of the places, including those named above, where you may not expect to find a magnet…
- Gate Latches – with steel gates that are a little worn down and the latch has seen better days, you will often find small rectangular ferrite magnets glued to both parts of the gate. Then, when this is closed the magnets attract together and keep the gate closed. This saves you replacing the latch or gate at cost when our magnets start from £2.40!
- Magic Tricks – Magnets are often used in magic tricks and illusions! Now, we don’t want to give any magician’s secrets away but some tricks would not be possible without the assistance of a magnet!
- Mobile Phones & Laptops- Magnets are used in various electronic devices for their standard functionality and applications. Mobile phones, for instance, use magnets in the compass app and laptops use magnets to spin fans and write data to hard drives.
- Speakers / Earphones – In both speakers and earphones, an electromagnet is used to translate different electrical signals into sound. This allows you listen to Adele, Frank Sinatra and your faves!
- Knife and Tool Racks – For anyone looking at this knife rack, it appears like some kind of wizardry is holding them in place. In actual fact, there are a set of magnets on the underside of the wood that are attracting the knives and holding them in place. Neat, right?
- Clothing – Everyday we get up, pop on a clean shirt, do up the buttons whilst half asleep and go to work. Imagine if could you put your shirt on and have it fasten in half the time with minimal effort? Well, that’s what some people are doing by replacing buttons with Neodymium Countersunk magnets! Whether it’s on a shirt or trousers, the magnets will attract together and keep your clothes fastened. To the naked eye, no one will ever know!
- Bath Panels – A great little life hack here. The magnets remain hidden but they allow you to easily take the bath panel on and off. See how you can do this with our bathroom panel life hack.
- Alarm Systems – Did you realise that magnets are responsible for the safety of your cars, houses, sheds etc? Where there is an alarm system, a magnet is ready to trigger the alarm at any point. When the alarm is armed, magnets have a complete circuit. If at any point the circuit breaks, the alarm will trigger. The same goes with fobs as seen below, the magnet in the fob causes a Reed Switch to flip and open the door.
- Car Seats & Seat Belt Detection – We recently covered Magnets in the Automotive Industry and showcased where magnets help with cars and their manufacturing. Magnets are hidden within seats and seat belt to show whether or not the passenger or driver are wearing their belt. If the magnet’s detect an unfastened belt, they will sound an alarm.
So, when it comes to hidden magnets, how many did you know about? Thank you for taking the time to read our post and we hope you’ve learned a thing or two. Now, we don’t expect you to thank the magnets with a card and a bouquet, but, please spare a thought for the unsung hero hard at work within these applications.
If you have any questions or queries for us on hidden magnets, feel free to drop us an email on sales@first4magnets.com or give us a call on 0845 519 4701 and our team will be happy to explain. We too would love to help you with your magnetic needs.
In the meantime, lets get social…
