What are magnetic poles? What is the difference between the north and the south pole of a magnet?
Each magnet has two poles, which are the end points of the magnetic field around the magnet. When suspended or allowed to rotate freely, magnets orient themselves in a north-south direction, which is almost but not exactly aligning to the geographicall north-south direction of the earth. The end of a magnet that points to the north is called the north pole, whereas that to the south called the south pole.
