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Are Magnets Safe?

Most of the magnets you will encounter day-to-day are safe. The magnets on your refrigerator can hold their own weight plus that of a good report card, but are too weak to do significant damage to anything. There are a few rare situations in which magnets can be harmful.

  1. Super-Strong Magnets

    • On the flip side, a child could potentially swallow a small magnet from a toy.

      If you were to purchase an extremely strong magnet and leave it lying near a magnetic surface (or another magnet), the resulting attraction could cause one or both to lurch toward the other, crushing anything between. From fingers to small pets--the extent of the damage would depend on the size and power of the magnets involved.

    That Old Data

    • Magnets can erase data that is magnetically encoded onto 3.5-inch computer disks, cassette and VHS tapes and credit cards. A computer's hard drive might also be affected if a very strong magnet is placed near it. Advances in technology (flash drives, iPods) are quickly making this problem obsolete.

    Pacemakers

    • Strong magnets can interfere with the function of cardiac pacemakers. But, again, magnets this strong are not usually found around the house unless somebody is specially purchasing them.

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