103 replies to this topic

[Martini]

If there is NOTHING In the room but the iron rods, where do the pieces of string come from?

Read the riddle again.

[vain-in-love]

a magnet can make ur skin hair raise...so try to put the two rods near ur arm hair..if it somewhar raises...then it is a magnet..the other is not...

[Freerefill]

The bane of my existence has been small, powerful magnets. Why? Because they require a lot of control to work with. Why? Because without any control, they will pull themselves at high speeds towards each other or toward attractive objects, as is the want of magnets. Why is this a problem? Because they are extremely brittle, and they break quite easily when subjected to severe impact, the kind of impact that they can impart on themselves given their strong attractive force and small inertia.

Now, you can make a magnet out of an iron rod or other stronger material, so this solution won't work if that is the case. I believe the best solution remains the "T" formation test which plays on the fact that all magnets are dipoles, but here's mine:

Depending on the material from which the magnet is made, it's likely that the magnet will be far more brittle than the iron rod, and thus will break completely upon impact, or at least flake. So, bang the rods together. Whichever one breaks is probably your magnet. Depending on the size and shape of the magnet, you could potentially break it with your bare hands. The iron rod would bend long before it breaks.

[NginR]

I've loved magnets since I was a kid. See which rod's end will stick to the midpoint of the other rod. If an end of rod A sticks to the midpoint of rod B, then rod A is a magnet and rod B is not. Think about it, or try it.

[jester515]

accually hanging the rods ona string would not help because they will both point in a directin how are you sopposed to know which direction is north? so the obvious answer would be to take both poles... and with the pole in the right hand touch the top of the pole in the left hand with the top of the pole in the right hand... it will either stick or repel... not with the top of the pole in the right hand touch the botton of the pole in the left hand... if the magnet is in the right hand it will do the same as b4 either stick or repel... but if it in your left hand it will do the oposite

That solution wouldn't work because it would attract both times no matter which hand the magnet was in

[billsfan101]

when i read this, i literally jumped out of the computer chair because it is so easy....

You rub one stick with the other, and the one that becomes a magnet isn't the magnet...you can actually do this, im not making this up. I forgot what it is called, but it actually does work

[billsfan101]

Read the riddle again.

lol i love more cowbell... SNL baby!!!

[Timm]

This can be solved with only these 2 items.

I recall learning in elementary that you can magnetize a metal rod (rod B) by running a magnet (rod A) over it several times in the same direction. While, if you run a single point of a metal bar (B) over a magnet (A), the entire metal bar (B) will not become magnetized. By attempting to magnetize with the other, you could tell which one was the magnet (A), by simply attempting to get the polls to push away after trying to use one to magnetize the other. If you find that neither of the ends of the rod that had been ran over the other repels one end of the other rod, then you will know that the rod that was ran over the other was not a magnet.

[bosque]

accually hanging the rods ona string would not help because they will both point in a directin how are you sopposed to know which direction is north? so the obvious answer would be to take both poles... and with the pole in the right hand touch the top of the pole in the left hand with the top of the pole in the right hand... it will either stick or repel... not with the top of the pole in the right hand touch the botton of the pole in the left hand... if the magnet is in the right hand it will do the same as b4 either stick or repel... but if it in your left hand it will do the oposite

The unmagnetized pole will stick to both sides of the magnet, it will never get repelled. this way would work if there were two magnets and three poles, but there aren't and that would be too easy.

[CowzRock]

I thought about this all day, and after coming up with a solution I was surprised to come home and read that the provided solution actually seemed much more complicated than the one I came up with, it's usually the other way around.

Alternate solution: Break one or both rods and the one who's pieces attract or repel eachother is your magnet.

that seems a whole lot easier and it would work!

yup.