Magnetic Polarity of Earth and Ion Attraction
Magnetic Polarity of Earth's Poles
The Earth's geographic poles and magnetic poles are not the same, and their relationship determines the magnetic polarity:
- Geographic North Pole: Close to the Earth's magnetic south pole.
- Geographic South Pole: Close to the Earth's magnetic north pole.
This is because Earth's magnetic field behaves like a giant bar magnet tilted slightly from its rotational axis.
Attraction of Ions
Cations (e.g., Na⁺): Positively charged ions are attracted to the magnetic south pole (near the geographic North Pole) because they are attracted to negative charges.
Anions (e.g., Cl⁻): Negatively charged ions are attracted to the magnetic north pole (near the geographic South Pole) because they are attracted to positive charges.
Additional Note
This assumes the ions are influenced by the Earth's magnetic field and that the magnetic field interacts with the charges directly. In reality, the Earth's magnetic field primarily affects charged particles moving in space or within an electrical current rather than stationary ions in a solution on the Earth's surface.