ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Magnetic separation

Okay kiddo, have you ever played with magnets before? You probably know that when two magnets gets close to each other, they can either stick or repel each other, right?

Well, believe it or not, scientists use this same idea to separate things! Magnetic separation is a way to separate things like mixtures of solids that have one component with magnetic properties. For example, if you have a mixture of sand and iron filings, a magnet can be used to separate them- the magnet will attract the iron filings and pick them up, leaving the sand behind.

There are different types of magnetic separation, but they all use magnets to attract magnetic materials to themselves. This can be done by suspending magnetic materials in a liquid and allowing a magnet to attract them or by passing materials through a magnetic field.

It's a really cool way that scientists can separate things without having to use any chemicals or other substances. Plus, magnets are so much fun to play with!