page_title: Refrigerator magnet
section_title: Magnetic polarization
hierarchical_section_title: Refrigerator magnet / Magnetic polarization
caption_attribution_description: English: Magnetic viewing film showing magnetic poles in a fridge magnet. Polski: Folia/wskaźnik pola magnetycznego - pokazane są bieguny magnetyczne na magnesie lodówkowym.
context_page_description: A refrigerator magnet or fridge magnet is a small magnet, often attached to an artistic or whimsical ornament, which may be used to post items such as shopping lists, child art or reminders on a refrigerator door, or which simply serves as decoration. Refrigerator magnets come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and may have promotional messages placed on them. Refrigerator magnets are popular souvenir and collectible objects.
context_section_description: Unlike most conventional magnets that have distinct north and south poles, flat refrigerator magnets are magnetized during manufacture with alternating north and south poles on the refrigerator side. This can be felt by taking two similar (or identical) refrigerator magnets and sliding them against each other with the "magnetic" sides facing each other: the magnets will alternately repel and attract as they are moved a few millimeters. One can note that magnetic field outside a uniformly magnetized thin sheet is actually zero, neglecting the edge effects (see, for instance, D. Budker and A. Sushkov, Physics in Your Feet", OUP, 2015), so a uniformly magnetized magnet does not stick to a refrigerator. Most magnets have a special, slightly more sophisticated magnetization pattern called a Halbach array.  This construction gives enhanced magnetic field on one side and almost zero magnetic field on the other.
caption: Magnetic viewing film showing magnetic poles of a fridge magnet
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