1Magnets attract certain metals and each other.
2That's handy for more than sticking stuff to the fridge.
3They help run motors and generators, among other things.
4Magnets occur in nature, but two centuries ago, people figured out how to make them using electricity.
5You could say it was a take-charge situation.
6You can't see or feel the force causing this globe to levitate,
7but it's not magic, it's magnetic.
8To make magnets, they must first create a sand mould of the magnet shapes.
9They load this pattern of four magnet shapes into a machine that fills it with sand.
10They remove the pattern and smooth the surface, dimpled by the machine's lid.
11Then it's back inside, but this time the machine pumps in gases to chemically harden the sand.
12It takes just seconds to solidify.
13They lift out the sand slab, revealing the impression of the magnet pattern.
14It's now a mould.
15Magnets come in many shapes and sizes, as do their moulds.
16Now they're ready to mould the magnet shapes.
17They take copper, cobalt, sulphur, nickel, pure iron, aluminium and titanium.
18They load all these metals into an electrical induction furnace.
19It generates a pulsating electromagnetic field that heats to more than 1600 degrees Celsius,
20melting everything into a molten soup.
21They pour this into the sand moulds.
22The moulds burst into flames because the gases that harden the sand are highly flammable.
23They slide the blazing moulds to another part of the foundry and knock them to the floor.
24Then they bust them open with a sledgehammer to get air inside so they cool down and the gases burn off.
25They shovel everything into a bin
26and sort the metal shapes from the sand chunks using, what else, a magnet.
27The moulded pieces react like ordinary metal.
28They don't yet have magnetic power.
29Some are shaped like rings.
30Threaded onto a copper pipe, they'll be used in electric motors.
31They place the ring-covered pipe in a much larger tube.
32Then they centre it by packing silica sand tightly around it.
33The sand will hold the rings in position during the next step.
34They seal both ends with concrete, allowing the inner copper tube to protrude slightly.
35Then it's into a different electrical furnace.
36It heats the tube full of magnet shapes until it's red hot.
37This primes them to accept an electromagnetic field which will be delivered by this metal rod.
38They slide it down the centre of the copper pipe and clamp it in place.
39Water keeps the pipe from melting as they deliver a low-voltage, high-current charge in a cylindrical formation,
40important for motor magnets.
41They break open the seal.
42The process has left the ring shapes mildly magnetized,
43but most importantly, it's orientated the magnetic field properly.
44They grind away any rough edges.
45At this point, these magnets are pretty useless.
46But this machine will empower them.
47It delivers an electromagnetic charge to the metal which magnetises it.
48The establishment of that weak magnetic field earlier has laid the groundwork for this moment,
49ensuring that the magnetisation is properly orientated.
50Now that's some serious magnetic muscle.
51In their various forms, magnets continue to exert a lot of pull in our society,
52because their invisible power helps keep so many things running.