Magnets have two poles, north and south, that exert an invisible magnetic force. Magnets either attract or repel each other depending on whether the poles that face each other are opposite or the same. If a magnet's north pole faces another's south pole, they attract, but if two same poles face each other, such as north to north, they repel each other due to the magnetic force pushing against each other. A paperclip can be identified as having a north or south pole based on whether it is attracted or repelled by the poles of a reference magnet.