Catdog71,
First of all, do not be affected by conservative minds trying to impose unfounded negativism. We know too little about the electromagnetic field to be able to postulate any dogmatic "does not work". The idea of the magnetic field as a conservative field is just as unfounded as the same conclusion of the gravitational field. We really dont know if these are even primary force fields. Maybe they are mere secondary responses to the condition of a single all encompassing field.
We know a lot today how to
use the electromagnetic field, but we still
don't know what makes a piece of iron attracted to a magnet.
If you want to succeed to pass the so called sticky point apparent in your construct, you have to take several things into consideration. The solution is unfortunately not as simple as merely shielding the magnetic field. You have to deal with certain parameters inherent in the polar interdependence of magnets.
Theoretically it is fully possible to create a rerouted shortcut behind a multilayer shield system which makes the unwanted pole hidden from outer field detection. There is nothing wrong scientifically with such a theory. But to realize this in practicality is quite another story, calling for an extensive understanding of the field geometry involved in the actual case.
I am myself dedicated to a project quite closely related to your problem, and it all points towards the combination of an insulated multilayer system of conductive and diamagnetic materials, shaped in order to reroute the field exposure of the unwanted pole influence into a loop within a container. This is probably the only way to do it, since any attempts to directly suppress or shield a magnetic field polarity only results in a repositioning of the pole expression.
Don't forget that the north and south field of a magnet always are connected and that the field strength of the poles are interdependent and unseparable.
Have you tried to incorporate materials with diamagnetic properties?
A diamagnetic material when subjected to a magnetic field react by creating an opposing field.
The most diamagnetic of all known materials is the man made so called pyrolitic graphite. It creates enough counterfield strength to float above a neodynium magnet. But pyrolitic graphite alone will not do the trick even if you use thick layers of this expensive material, since you cannot supress the magnetic field, only work with it.
So if there is a way to create a vector oriented dis-equilibrium in the field strength geometry between the two poles of a magnet, it is bound to be through the geometric redesign of the magnetic field vectors in such a way that the unwanted part of the magnetic field is rerouted through a shortcut into a contained loop.
As I said, this is fully possible seen from the theoretical scientific point of view, and containers that completely keeps out magnetic fields, including the magnetic field of earth, are well known in the scientific community, and employed in research where no electromagnetic interference is allowed. What makes things complicated is when you are attempting to alter the detectable visibility of the nagnetic field polarity.
So don't give up too easy. Just keep in mind that altering the geometry of polarity-visibility is a field of knowledge where you are bound to gain a thorough understanding of the field geometry specific for the case in question. Start by bying one of those cheap three dimensional compasses used for educational purposes, they will suffice well in giving you an initial view of the field orientation.
http://www.indigo.com/magnets/magnaprobe-magnetic-field-direction.html I also recommend you to gain further insight in the electromagnetic field dimension.
http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/MagParticle/Physics/MagneticMatls.htm Then the rest is just a lot of trial and error.
Gwandau
