# magnets in Space

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnets-in-space/41764>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 18, 2000, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnets-in-space/41764 "2000-11-18T19:33:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mongrel\_8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@mongrel\_8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mongrel_8)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnets-in-space/41764/1 "2000-11-18T19:33:20Z")

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Would magnets still function in space or do they need the north/south magnetic poles?

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**Author:** ![douglips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@douglips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglips)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnets-in-space/41764/2 "2000-11-18T19:39:30Z")

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They **have** north/south magnetic poles. They don’t need anyone else’s poles.

I think you may be confused because the geographic terms ‘north’ and ‘south’ are used to describe magnetic poles. The only reason this is so is that the earth itself is a magnet, and leads to the fact that magnets will align themselves with the earth’s field. The ‘north pole’ of a magnet will point north, while the ‘south pole’ of a magnet will point south. It has nothing to do with a quality of the earth that makes magnets work.

This gives you the interesting bit of trivia that the North Magnetic Pole of the earth is a ‘south pole’, since opposite poles attract.

But I digress. The magnets work just fine in space, and can attract other magnets and materials such as steel. I believe I’ve seen video of astronauts playing with magnets, making them ‘orbit’ each other.