What happens when a permanent magnet is broken into pieces?

When a permanent magnet is broken into pieces, each piece retains its magnetic properties and becomes a separate magnet. This occurs because the individual atoms within the magnet remain aligned in such a way that each fragment maintains its own north and south poles. As a result, regardless of the size, each piece exhibits its own magnetic field and can attract or repel other magnetic materials just like the original magnet.

The nature of permanent magnets is such that their magnetic domains—regions where the magnetic fields of atoms are aligned—remain intact within each individual fragment. This means that even small pieces of the magnet will still function as independent magnets, each with its own polarity. Thus, if you were to break a cylindrical magnet into several smaller pieces, not only would you have multiple new magnets, but their strength would generally be a fraction of the original magnet's strength, depending on their size.