Santa

What happens if you stand on the magnetic north pole with a compass?

My science teacher asks us to do this extra credit question. So, what do YOU think happens if you have a compass and you are standing directly above the magnetic north pole (and no, that's not the north pole where Santa Claus lives.) Do you think the compass needle would just keep pointing north or break or the needle would spin around or what?

Public Comments

1. It spins around erratically.
2. You would DESTROY THE EARTH! MWAhahahaha!!! Sorry, just kidding. The needle would just sort of wobble around in random directions. If you held the compass on its side, the needle would point straight up and down (because that's the way the magnetic field lines run at that point on the Earth).
3. The compass needle pointing "north" is actually the south pole of the needle which is a permanent magnet. Since it wants to point in the direction of the field lines, if you were right on top of the north magnetic pole, it would try to point straight down. Of course, it cant do that - unless you held the compass on its side.