Well the other day i told my friend that when you put a compass near steel it will screw up and he said only magnets do that then i showed him and it worked then he said: that'ss because steel has its own magnet in it coz it builds up static electricity is that correct what he said? thanks
no it is not, he made that up steel is a conductor and can't build static electricity. Compass needle is a magnet and as such was attracted to steel .
If you sprinkle iron filings near a bar magnet (on paper, etc.) the filings will try to line up with the magnetic field (because iron atoms behave like tiny magnets). Bringing the compass near steel (mainly iron with a little carbon) will cause the iron to try to align with the magnet of the compass needle, however, because the needle is free to swing it also aligns with the magnetic field set up between the needle and steel. Any static electricity would have nil effect on the magnetic field.
No. Steel does not build up static electricity by itself. Also, magnetic fields are made by moving electricity, not static electicity. The steel conducts magnetism, so it changes the earth's magnetic field near itself by conducting the field through itself. The larger effect is a magnet near a piece of steel: the compass has a magnet, and when you place it near a ferromagnetic material, it attracts. Try putting a refridgerator magnet against the fridge - it sticks because it attracts.
