Horseshoe magnets have a wide range of uses. They were used in the ear piece of a candlestick telephone.
The magnets were used to create the sound of a person’s voice in the earpiece by attracting a piece of metal, known as the diaphragm, allowing it to vibrate and replicate the voice waves of a person speaking on the other end of the phone.
The telephone was made in this shape specifically to hold a horseshoe magnet, as there were no other varieties of magnets around at the time that were strong enough.
Horseshoe magnets can also be used as work-holding devices for jobs such as welding and sign making. They can also be used to hold a device such as an inspection mirror, due to the clearance hole on the top.
Horseshoe magnets can also be used in education, to teach school children about the magnetic field, using iron filings.
They are proficient at retrieving ferromagnetic materials from both hot and corrosive liquids, for example from salt baths and plating vats.
They can also be used for removing ferromagnetic materials from chutes carrying any powder or granular material.
