Do magnets need to touch something to apply a force？

Magnets, in our life now, is not strange, small children can be seen in some magnetic toys, and refrigerator stickers, etc., in fact, it also exists in the interior of many products, perhaps you will be curious, the magnet must be in contact with the object in order to produce force on it?

The magnetic field produced by a magnet is an invisible, intangible, but real physical field that exists around a magnet or any object that can produce a magnetic field. This field has the ability to affect other magnetic materials or moving charges. When a magnetic object (such as iron, nickel, or cobalt) comes within the range of another magnet's magnetic field, even if a certain distance is maintained between the two, an interaction force is generated between them, which manifests itself as an attractive or repulsive force.

Galvanized neodymium block magnets with silk-screened N markings on the surface

This non-contact action is not limited to between static objects, but is also widely used in modern technology. For example, inside an electric motor, the rotor can be driven to rotate by changing the direction of the magnetic field; and in a magnetic levitation train, the repulsive force between strong magnetic fields is utilized to levitate the train, thus reducing friction and increasing operating speed.

In short, magnets do not need to be in direct contact to exert a force on other objects, thanks to the magnetic field that exists around them; it's just that contact enhances the effect.

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