How is North and South poles same and how are they different?
358691
They are far apart from one another!\nThey are cold! EXTREMELY COLD! brrrrrrrr \n\nThe South Pole is the southernmost point on the Earth.\nThe North Pole is the northernmost point on the Earth.\n\nThe Geographic South Pole is the one of two points where the earth's axis of rotation intersects the surface (the other being the Geographic North Pole). This is the point usually meant when an unspecified "south pole" is mentioned.\nThe Geographic North Pole, also known as True North, is close to the northern point at which the Earth's axis of rotation meets the surface. Geographic North defines latitude 90° North. In whichever direction you travel from here, you are always heading south. The pole is located in the Arctic Ocean. Classically (19th century) this pole was exactly where people believed the pole of rotation met the Earth's surface, but soon astronomers noticed a small apparent variation of latitude as determined for a fixed point on Earth by observing stars. This variation had a period of about 435 days and the periodic part of it is now called the Chandler wobble after its discoverer. It is desirable to tie the system of Earth coordinates (latitude, longitude, and elevations or orography) to fixed landforms. Of course, given continental drift and the rising and falling of land due to volcanos, erosion and so on, there is no system in which all geographic features are fixed. Yet the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service and the International Astronomical Union have defined a framework called the International Terrestrial Reference System that does an admirable job. The North pole of this system now defines geographic North and it does not quite coincide with the rotation axis. Also see polar motion.
219376
The earth has two magnetic poles, a north pole and a south pole.\n\nThe effect of both poles can be detected by a good compass from anywhere on earth.
228548
Apart from the North Pole, there is a countable infinity of circumferences parallel to the equator, in which each point has this property. They are:\n- The circumference which distance from the South pole (> 1 mile) is such that when you go 1 mile south and then east, you run on a smaller closed circle exactly 1 time (it is long 1 mile), so that you hit the same point and go up via the same meridian.\n- The circumference in which the construction above leads to a smaller circle exactly 1/2 miles long.\n- ... and so on, with 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, etc.
210380
I think you are referring to the fact that there is a geographical north pole and a magnetic north pole.  \n\nThe North Pole can be defined in four different ways. Only the first two definitions are commonly used.\n\nHowever it is defined, the North Pole lies in the Arctic Ocean. It is not on land as the south pole is, so there is no land, just permanently frozen waters.\n\nThe Geographic North Pole, also known as True North, is approximately the northern point at which the Earth's axis of rotation meets the surface. \n\nThe Magnetic North Pole is the northern point at which the geomagnetic field points vertically, i.e. the dip is 90°. \n\nThe Geomagnetic North Pole is the pole of the Earth's geomagnetic field's dipole moment (somewhat confusingly, it is technically the south pole of the dipole). (I really don't know what that means!!!)\n\nThe Northern Pole of Inaccessibility is defined as the point in the Arctic farthest from any coastline, and is at 84°03′N 174°51′W. Similar poles exist in the Pacific and Indian oceans, and there is a dry land pole of inaccessibility in the Antarctic. \n\nThe website I've attached gives lots more information.
474837
The direction of the north magnetic pole on the earth changes slowly over time. In addition, occasionally, the north and south poles reverse with the pole in the northern hemisphere becoming a south magnetic pole and vice versa. This can be recorded in magnetic rocks and even has utility as a dating method. According to our understanding right now, we are in the middle of such a switch. This is why the strength of the magnetic filed is decreasing. Anyway, a shift is when one of these switches happens.
926113
The Earth is tilted at an angle of about twenty three and a half degrees.  This is the reason why North and Magnetic poles are not at the same place.  \n\nAnyway, in the Northern winter, the North Pole is angled away from the Sun, with the South Pole therefore being angled towards the Sun.  The result is 24 hours night in the north, 24 hours day light in the south.  This is the southern summer.\nNow remember that the Earth maintains this angle throughout its orbit.\nSix months later, the Earth is on the other side of its orbit around the Sun.  Still maintaining the same tilt, now the North Pole is receiving 24 hour day light, and the South Pole is in darkness.  Northern summer, southern winter.\n\nThe Arctic and Antarctic circles mark the limit of this 24 hour daylight, and the Tropic of Cancer (North) and the Tropic of Capricorn (South) mark the limits of the maximum travel of the Sun at it appears in the northern and southern skies.\n\nAt the Spring and Autumn exquinox, the Earth is such that the Poles are receiving equal amounts of sunlight.  Equinox means "equal night".  \n\nI down know any particular websites but try the NOAA and BBC weather sites.\n\nADDITION: To Glenn Blaylock.  Thank you very much for the correction.  I'll read up on my error.
192644
Because they are further from the sun, and therefore are colder regions, the same reason that the equator is a much warmer, temperate climate. \n\nAlso to note is that on the equator the days are almost the same length all year round and the nearer to the poles you go the more the days and nights are affected. At the north pole some times of year are permanently light and the opposite at the south pole. This is due to the Earth's tilt.
60283
This question has been adequately answered, but it is a trick question in that every direction at the north pole is south (you can't walk east, west, or north of the north pole), and every direction at the south pole is north. You could, however take one step south, turn and walk east, but you would have to walk in a little circle to maintain your easterly direction. Weird, huh?
61280
If you've ever seen a bar magnet in a pile of iron filings, you'll see that the filings will orient themselves with the magnetic field, which concentrates at the poles.  Take a look at the images in the links.  The world is similar, in that it has a magnetic polarity that makes it work like a big magnet.\n\nIonized particles fly off the sun and out toward the planets (the so-called "solar wind").  An ionized particle has a charge, and a charged particle will turn when it moves through a magnetic field.  So when these charged particles encounter the earth's magnietic field, they will begin to spin in a sort of coiled-shaped path.  The spinning stops the ions from just smaking into the earth directly, so instead it will trace the length of the magnetic field, getting dragged towards one of the poles.  As the ions cluster at the poles, one of two things might happen: it might coil so tight that it switches directions, sort of "bouncing" and making the long trek to the other pole, or it might cascade down to earth.  Those which cascade to earth will strike gases in the upper atmosphere with a lot of energy, which can cause the gases to become energetically charged.  When they release the energy, it comes out as light (pretty much the same principle as in a fuorescent light).  Due to the differences in the speed of the ions, or the differences in the types of gases encountered, the light will have different colors.\n\nThis also happens at the south pole (the other end of the magnet) in what is called Aurora Australis (the southern lights).
470171
The polar diameter of the earth is 12,714 km.  So the actual distance between the north and south pole is 12,714km.  The meridional of the earth is 40,008 km (the circumference going around the poles).  So, if you walked, you would walk at least 20,004 km from North to South pole.
88162
This can get quite complicated, but I do not think you want a complicated answer. \n\nThere is a force that magnets produce on each other. Like poles (two norths or two souths) repel, and opposite poles repel (one north and one south). \n\nThe forces caused by these magnetic force causes a torque to be applied to the suspended magnetic, overcoming the resistance of the string to twisting. This causes the magnetic to turn, and eventually align itself in the minimum energy position, aligned with the external magnetic field at that location, which in most places on the surface of the earth, points towards the north magnetic pole. \n\nThis is not always true, of course, because there are all kinds of complicated fine structure details to the local magnetic fields caused by buried magnetic materials nearby, such as magnetite. \n\nThe north magnetic pole is close to the geographic North pole, but not exactly the north pole, which is why in many places the compass reading has to be corrected by adding or subtracting a figure called the declination. The magnetic pole also migrates every year by a few miles, so the magnetic declination at any given location changes as a function of time as well.
209485
1)In the space there is no direction.So it matters not what direction you call by what name.\n2) On the Earth , on the other hand , it does matter and matters a lot; and the reasons are too obvious to quote.\n3) On the earth the bearings are taken with the help of fixed stars in the Sky and it has no racial bias.\n4) In this context the POLAR STAR acquires importance. The North pole of the earth is directly pointing towards this unmoving star in the sky. So much so that if you are standing exactly on the north pole, the Pole star or the North Star will be directly above you and the angular distance between you and the star will be Zero. That is exactly how the polar expedition leaders find out if they have reached their goal correctly or not.\nAs you move towards the South pole the angular distance increases to reach 180 degrees and the pole star disappears from your sight.
845389
There are actually four north poles. Neither of them have a sign as the some of the poles tend to woble. They are as follows:\nThe North Magnetic Pole – the point on the Earth's surface where the Earth's magnetic field points directly downwards. This pole is constantly wandering; its estimated 2005 position was 82.7° N 114.4° W. \nThe North Geomagnetic Pole – the point of intersection of the Earth's surface with the axis of a simple magnetic dipole (like a bar magnet) that best approximates the Earth's actual more complex magnetic field. Like the North Magnetic Pole it constantly wanders; as of 2005 it was located at approximately 79.74° N 71.78° W. \nThe Northern Pole of Inaccessibility – the point in the Arctic Ocean farthest from land, at 84°03′N 174°51′W. \nThe North Celestial Pole – an imaginary point in the northern sky towards which the Earth's axis of rotation points.
356220
Depends on your point of view. If you're hovering above the North pole, the earth rotates counter-clockwise. If you're hovering above the South pole, it rotates clockwise.
1147563
People do not live AT the north Pole because it is ocean, frozen in the winter.  They live nearer to the north pole because the is land reaching towards that area from areas that are wram enough to live.  The South Pole is many hundreds of miles from the coast of Antarctica.  Antarctica is completely isolated from major land masses that are populated.  Antarctica is a high ice cover plateau which is much colder than the northern equivalent (see source FAQ for why).\n\nNo people settled in Antarctica.  However these days there are year round scientific stations in Antarctica.  At the very South Pole it would be impossible to live there without modern support infrastructure.  I've spent over 2 years at the South Pole (the actual pole!) working as a scientist.  But in some ways everyone is always just a visitor.  I have a friend that has spent over 5 years there!  He is also still a visitor.\n\nSo - South Pole is much colder.  But the actual North Pole is ocean and no one lives there either.  People live neaer the Norht Pole because it is warmer and closer to inhabited areas.\n\nDAS
81160
Just compare the North Pole and the South Pole. The South pole is on a continent that is mainly a high plateau (and has a higher average elevation than any other continent). The North Pole has a few islands close by, but is mainly sea ice and polynas. The South Pole as a result is markedly colder and drier than the North Pole. The topography at the South pole also creates much stronger winds due to orographic effects.
1159847
pole\nmagnetic pole, the two nearly opposite ends of the planet where the earth's magnetic intensity is the greatest, as the north and south magnetic poles. For the magnetic north, it is the direction from any point on the earth's surface linking the horizontal component of the magnetic lines of force with the observer and north magnetic pole; it is similar for magnetic south. The north magnetic pole, first located (1831) by English explorer Sir James C. Ross, is now about 78°N and 104°W in the Queen Elizabeth Islands of northern Canada. The south magnetic pole, reached (1909) by English geologists Sir T. W. E. David and Sir Douglas Mawson, is now about 66°S and 139°E on the Adélie Coast of Antarctica. The magnetic poles are not fixed but follow circular paths with diameters of about 100 miles (160 km). Studies of paleomagnetism also indicate that the earth's magnetic field has reversed its polarity many times in the geologic past. The best hypothesis to date for the origin of terrestrial magnetism is the self-exciting dynamo theory, where the earth's magnetic field is generated by the interaction of motion and electrical currents in the earth's liquid outer core.\n\n///\nMagnetic fields are produced by the motion of electrical charges. For example, the magnetic field of a bar magnet results from the motion of negatively charged electrons in the magnet. The origin of the Earth's magnetic field is not completely understood, but is thought to be associated with electrical currents produced by the coupling of convective effects and rotation in the spinning liquid metallic outer core of iron and nickel. This mechanism is termed the dynamo effect. \nRocks that are formed from the molten state contain indicators of the magnetic field at the time of their solidification. The study of such "magnetic fossils" indicates that the Earth's magnetic field reverses itself every million years or so (the north and south magnetic poles switch). This is but one detail of the magnetic field that is not well understood\n\n....\nIn order to explain the fact that ferromagnetic materials with spontaneous magnetisation could exist in the demagnetised state Weiss proposed the concept of magnetic domains. Weiss built on earlier work carried out by Ampère, Weber and Ewing suggesting their existence. The findings of this work revealed that within a domain large numbers of atomic moments are aligned  typically 1012-1018, over a much larger volume than was previously suspected. The magnetisation within the domain is saturated and will always lie in the easy direction of magnetisation when there is no externally applied field. The direction of the domain alignment across a large volume of material is more or less random and hence the magnetisation of a specimen can be zero.\n\nMagnetic domains exist in order to reduce the energy of the system. A uniformly magnetised specimen as shown in figure 5(a) has a large magnetostatic energy associated with it. This is the result of the presence of magnetic free poles at the surface of the specimen generating a demagnetising field, Hd. From the convention adopted for the definition of the magnetic moment for a magnetic dipole the magnetisation within the specimen points from the south pole to the north pole, while the direction of the magnetic field points from north to south. Therefore, the demagnetising field is in opposition to the magnetisation of the specimen. The magnitude of Hd is dependent on the geometry and magnetisation of the specimen. In general if the sample has a high length to diameter ratio (and is magnetised in the long axis) then the demagnetising field and the magnetostatic energy will be low.\n\nThe break up of the magnetisation into two domains as illustrated in figure 5(b) reduces the magnetostatic energy by half. In fact if the magnet breaks down into N domains then the magnetostatic energy is reduced by a factor of 1/N, hence figure 5(c) has a quarter