Pardon me if my question sounds "out there", I've been out of touch with recent developments in physics, but this is something I've never really put deep thought into.
I know that when two pieces of magnets are bought with their like sides towards one another, they repel, with a force proportional to their intrinsic properties. So in principle you can make a contraption where two pieces of magnets act as a source of tensile strength, just like the electromagnetic forces that exist within metal wires that help them keep their shape under some tension.
My question is regarding the extent to this supply. Can these electromagnetic forces forever hold out the tensile forces against which they've been put to or do they decay over time (let's ignore environmental effects)? In other words, if I have a weight suspended on the top side of a two repelling magnet system, will that weight stay there forever? I can also ask it in another way:
If we have a piece of metal, we know that it has a large number of free electrons that help it maintain hardness. How long will it stay hard for? Do we have an estimate if there's a tendency for metals to lose hardness over time due to wearing of electrostatic repulsion between them?
Another way to ask the question would be if I replace magnets with superconducting magnets, which we know should in principle provide a source of magnetic force forever, is there a reason to believe that that will decay in time too?
Best Answer
They will decay over time.
The magnets were created by causing the atoms of the iron to line up when placed in a strong magnetic field. But over time, at any temperature above absolute zero, the atoms will move around and randomize their positions causing the magnet to slowly weaken over time. Of course, the process can be sped up by heating or dropping the magnet.
Hope this helps.