A Refrigerator Magnet Analog of Scanning-Probe Microscopy

In this Activity, students investigate the magnetic interactions between a flexible-sheet refrigerator magnet and a probe tip cut from the same magnet to deduce the relative arrangement of the magnetic poles. These interactions are used as a macroscopic analog of scanning probe microscopies. The Activity could be used when atoms are introduced. It helps students understand how atomic-scale images are obtained.