A freely suspended magnet does not point exactly at the geographical N-S directions
Answers
Because there is nothing at the geographical poles to attract the magnet - meaning another magnet.
The geomagnetic field is separate from the earths geographic. The crust of the earth moves, slides around and floats on top of magma. That crust forms the geographic orientation based on its rotation which only loosely matches the cores rotation… And the magnetic field produced by the core does not match the geographic poles at this time..
The suspended magnet only aligns itself with the magnetic poles.
Magnetic North vs Geographic (True) North Pole - GIS Geography
Answer:
Because there is nothing at the geographical poles to attract the magnet - meaning another magnet.
Explanation:
The geomagnetic field is separate from the earths geographic. The crust of the earth moves, slides around and floats on top of magma. That crust forms the geographic orientation based on its rotation which only loosely matches the cores rotation and the magnetic field produced by the core does not match the geographic poles at this time.
The suspended magnet only aligns itself with the magnetic poles.