A horseshoe magnet is either a permanent magnet or an electromagnet made in the shape of a horseshoe (in other words, in a U-shape). The permanent kind has become the most widely recognized symbol for magnets.[1] It is usually depicted as red and marked with 'North' and 'South' poles.[1] Although rendered obsolete in the 1950s by squat, cylindrical magnets made of modern materials,[1] horseshoe magnets are still regularly shown in elementary school textbooks.[1] Historically, they were a solution to the problem of making a compact magnet that does not destroy itself in its own demagnetizing field.[1] [2]
In 1819, it was discovered that passing electric current through a piece of metal deflected a compass needle. Following this discovery, many other experiments surrounding magnetism were attempted. These experiments culminated in William Sturgeon wrapping wire around a horseshoe-shaped piece of iron and running electric current through the wires creating the first horseshoe magnet.[3]
This was also the first practical electromagnet and the first magnet that could lift more mass than the magnet itself when the seven-ounce magnet was able to lift nine pounds of iron.[3] [4] Sturgeon showed that he could regulate the magnetic field of his horseshoe magnet by increasing or decreasing the amount of current being run through the wires.[4] This would lay the groundwork for development of the electrical telegraph and the future of world-wide telecommunications for the next century and more.[4]
The shape of the magnet was originally created as a replacement for the bar magnet as it makes the magnet stronger.[5] A horseshoe magnet is stronger because both poles of the magnet are closer to each other and in the same plane which allows the magnetic lines of flux to flow along a more direct path between the poles and concentrates the magnetic field.[6]
The shape of the horseshoe magnet also drastically reduces its demagnetization over time.[7] This is due to coercivity also known as the "staying magnetized" ability of a given magnet.[7] Coercivity is weaker in disc or ring shapes, slightly stronger in cylinder or bar shapes, and strongest in horseshoe shapes.[6] [7] To increase the coercivity of horseshoe magnets, steel keepers or magnet keepers are used.[7] A magnetic field holds its strength best when the entire magnetic field is given the ability to loop through a ferromagnetic substance instead of air.[8] The nearness of the horseshoe magnet’s poles facilitates the ability to use these magnet keepers more easily than other types of magnets.[8]