Permanent magnets are objects that produce their own persistent magnetic fields. They are made of ferromagnetic materials, such as iron and nickel, that have been magnetized, and they have both a north and a south pole.

Magnetic field of permanent magnets

The magnetic field of permanent magnets can be quite complicated, especially near the magnet. The magnetic field of a small straight magnet is proportional to the magnet's strength (called its magnetic dipole moment m). The equations are non-trivial and also depend on the distance from the magnet and the orientation of the magnet. For simple magnets, m points in the direction of a line drawn from the south to the north pole of the magnet. Flipping a bar magnet is equivalent to rotating its m by 180 degrees.

The magnetic field of larger magnets can be obtained by modelling them as a collection of a large number of small magnets called dipoles each having their own m. The magnetic field produced by the magnet then is the net magnetic field of these dipoles. And, any net force on the magnet is a result of adding up the forces on the individual dipoles.

There are two competing models for the nature of these dipoles. These two models produce two different magnetic fields, H and B. Outside a material, though, the two are identical (to a multiplicative constant) so that in many cases the distinction can be ignored. This is particularly true for magnetic fields, such as those due to electric currents, that are not generated by magnetic materials.