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MAGNET
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(physics) a device that attracts iron and produces a magnetic field
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("magnet" is a kind of...):
device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)
Meronyms (parts of "magnet"):
core (a bar of magnetic material (as soft iron) that passes through a coil and serves to increase the inductance of the coil)
magnetic pole; pole (one of the two ends of a magnet where the magnetism seems to be concentrated)
Domain category:
natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "magnet"):
bar magnet (a magnet in the form of a bar with magnetic poles at each end)
electromagnet (a temporary magnet made by coiling wire around an iron core; when current flows in the coil the iron becomes a magnet)
field magnet (a magnet that provides a magnetic field in a dynamo or electric motor)
magnetic needle (a slender magnet suspended in a magnetic compass on a mounting with little friction; used to indicate the direction of the earth's magnetic pole)
paramagnet (magnet made of a substance whose magnetization is proportional to the strength of the magnetic field applied to it)
permanent magnet; static magnet (a magnet that retains its magnetism after being removed from a magnetic field)
solenoid (a coil of wire around an iron core; becomes a magnet when current passes through the coil)
Derivation:
magnetic (having the properties of a magnet; i.e. of attracting iron or steel)
magnetic (determined by earth's magnetic fields)
magnetic (capable of being magnetized)
magnetic (of or relating to or caused by magnetism)
magnetise; magnetize (make magnetic)
magnetize (attract strongly, as if with a magnet)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A characteristic that provides pleasure and attracts
Example:
flowers are an attractor for bees
Synonyms:
attracter; attraction; attractive feature; attractor; magnet
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("magnet" is a kind of...):
characteristic; feature (a prominent attribute or aspect of something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "magnet"):
attention (a general interest that leads people to want to know more)
tourist attraction (a characteristic that attracts tourists)
Derivation:
magnetic (possessing an extraordinary ability to attract)
Context examples:
CAM may include dietary supplements, megadose vitamins, herbal preparations, special teas, acupuncture, massage therapy, magnet therapy, spiritual healing, and meditation.
(CAM, NCI Dictionary)
Using voltage instead of pressure to drive cooling is simpler from an engineering standpoint, and allows existing design principles to be repurposed without the need for magnets.
(Electronic solid could reduce carbon emissions in fridges and air conditioners, University of Cambridge)
Neither of these returnings was very pleasant or desirable: no magnet drew me to a given point, increasing in its strength of attraction the nearer I came.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Spin makes electrons behave a bit like tiny bar magnets and point a certain way.
(‘Magnetic graphene’ switches between insulator and conductor, University of Cambridge)
The researchers are inventing new materials that are small, fast, and can perform in a multitude of ways, such as mimicking neurons in the brain, computing with magnets, and calculating with quantum mechanics.
(Picoscience and a plethora of new materials, National Science Foundation)
The new plastic surface—a treated form of conventional transparent wrap—can be shrink-wrapped onto door handles, railings, IV stands and other surfaces that can be magnets for bacteria such as MRSA and C. difficile.
(Scientists Create Superbug-Resistant Self-Cleaning Surface, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
Guided by the placement of a magnet on the body surface overlying a tumor site, the doxorubicin-MTC complex delivers doxorubicin directly to the tumor site, thereby targeting and prolonging the duration of doxorubicin-mediated cytotoxicity to the tumor bed while minimizing systemic toxicity.
(Doxorubicin-Magnetic Targeted Carrier Complex, NCI Thesaurus)
But supposing all these conjectures to be false, you cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind, to the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to those countries, to reach which at present so many months are requisite; or by ascertaining the secret of the magnet, which, if at all possible, can only be effected by an undertaking such as mine.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Placed near a permanent magnet, when a laser was focused onto a fixed spot on the ring, it locally demagnetizes that portion of the ring, creating an unbalanced net force that causes the ring to turn.
(New Materials Developed by Scientists Able to Move in Response to Light, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The magnetic field along the cold front is equivalent to about one millionth of the strength of a typical refrigerator magnet, and is about ten times higher than in parts of the cluster away from the cold front.
(Scientists Surprised by Relentless Cosmic Cold Front, NASA)
