It seems somewhat common to find that bar magnets used in labs get their magnetization reversed, so the actual poles are opposite the ones painted on the bar. I am wondering why reversals are so common?
If it’s because they get dropped or whatever, why isn’t it more common to find that the net magnetization vector shifts by some angle relative to the axis of the bar, rather than shifting around by 180 degrees? Aren’t the domains small compared to the physical dimensions of the bar (say 1 cm in diameter)?