Unit 5

Magnetic materials
 MAGNETIC MATERIALS

To understand magnetism, it is essential to identify

what types of materials are used to create magnets
and how the materials used affect the ultimate
performance of a magnet.
 INTRODUCTION

Magnetic materials are categorized as magnetically hard,

or magnetically soft materials.
Magnetically soft materials are easily magnetized but the
induced magnetism is usually temporary.
For example, if you rub a permanent magnet along a nail or
a screwdriver, the nail or screwdriver will become
temporarily magnetized and will emit its own weak
magnetic field.

This is because a large number of their iron atoms are

temporarily aligned in the same direction by the external
magnetic field.
INTRODUCTION
Like magnetically soft materials, magnetically hard materials can be
magnetized by a strong external magnetic field, such as those generated by
an electromagnet. The difference being that magnetically hard materials
will remain magnetized indefinitely, unless they are demagnetized by an
opposing magnetic field, raised above their curie temperature or allowed to
corrode.
Soft and Hard Magnetic Materials
Soft and Hard Magnetic Materials
Magnetically hard materials are used to create permanent magnets made
from alloys generally consisting of varying amounts of iron, aluminum,
nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements samarium, dysprosium, and
neodymium.

The strongest permanent magnets are known as neodymium magnets and

are made from an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron. Permanent
magnets are difficult to magnetize as unlike magnetically soft materials
their atomic magnetic domains aren’t easily aligned but once they are
aligned, they remain so indefinitely.
Soft and Hard Magnetic Materials
CLASSIFICATION OF MAGNETIC MATERIALS
Because all materials have a different atomic structure different materials
react differently when placed in a magnetic field. In its simplest form, the
magnetic behaviour of a material is determined by its number of unpaired
electrons in each atom.
In the atoms of most elements electrons exist in pairs with each electron
spinning in a different direction causing them to cancel out each other’s
magnetic field, therefore no net magnetic field exists.
However, some materials have unpaired electrons which will generate a net
magnetic field and therefore have a greater reaction to an external magnetic
field. Most materials are classified either as ferromagnetic, diamagnetic or
paramagnetic.
Types of Magnetic materials
Types of magnetism.
a) paramagnetism,
b) ferromagnetism,
c) antiferromagnetism,
d) ferrimagnetism, and
e) enforced
ferromagnetism
Curie point refers to a
characteristic property of a
ferromagnetic material. In
ferromagnetic materials,
the magnetic moments are
aligned randomly at
temperatures above the
Curie point and become
ordered below the Curie
point.

As the temperature is increased towards the Curie point, the alignment

(magnetization) within each domain decreases.
Above the Curie point, the material is purely paramagnetic and there
are no magnetized domains of aligned moments.
Figure 4-3 Simplified comparison of
permeabilities for: ferromagnets (µ
f

),
paramagnets (µ
p

), diamagnets (µ
d

), and free space (µ

0

).
A schematic showing the dependence of the coercivity (HC ) of a
magnetic particle on its diameter (D).
STEPS OF MAGNETISATION
Diamagnetic

 Feebly repelled by magnetic field. This is because an

electron has two dipole moments, ml(orbital motion)
and ms(spin motion). These two are equal and
opposite so net dipole moment is zero.
 These are the materials which when placed in a
magnetic field are weakly magnetised in a direction
opposite to that of applied magnetic field.
Diamagnetic

 They have paired electrons or Solid has even number

of electrons except O2.
 When placed in a magnetic fileld, the magnetic lines
of force tend to avoid the substance.
 Susceptibility: =M/H, <0, -1<<0.
 M=Intensity of magnetization
 H= Applied magnetic field
 Relative permeability, =μr-1, 0<μr<1
Diamagnetic Materials

 They do not obey Curie’s law.  is independent of

temperature, αZ(Atomic number of the material.
 Examples: Superconductors, Inert gases, Bismuth,
Copper, Zinc, Gold, Silver etc.
Diamagnetic Materials
Diamagnetic materials repel any externally applied magnetic
field. This occurs because their magnetic domains realign to
oppose an externally applied magnetic field when influenced
by a magnetic field.
All materials show some diamagnetic properties, however, in most
materials, the effect is extremely weak and unnoticed.
All the electrons within the atoms of diamagnetic materials are paired,
therefore they do not generate their own net magnetic field. Most elements
in the periodic table are diamagnetic.
Diamagnetic Materials
Diamagnetic substances have a tendency to move from the stronger part to the
weaker part of the external magnetic field. We can also say that the
diamagnetic substances get repelled by a magnet.

When a diamagnetic substance is placed in an external magnetic field.

The field lines get repelled by the material and the field inside the material
is reduced. If the substance is placed in a non-uniform magnetic field, it
tends to move from the point of a high electric field to that of a low electric
field.
Paramagnetic Materials
Paramagnetic substances are those substances that get weakly magnetized
in the presence of an external magnetic field. In the presence of an
external magnetic field, these substances tend to move from a region of a
weak to a strong magnetic field.
In other terms, we can say that these substances tend to get weakly
attracted to a permanent magnet.
Paramagnetic Materials
In a paramagnetic material, the individual atoms possess a dipole
moment, which when placed in a magnetic field, interact with one
another, and get spontaneously aligned in a common direction, which
results in its magnetization. As per Curie’s law, the magnetism of a
paramagnetic substance is inversely proportional to the absolute
temperature, until it reaches a state of saturation.

Paramagnetic
materials
include magnesium,
molybdenum,
lithium, and
tantalum.
Paramagnetic Materials
In a paramagnetic material, the individual atoms possess a dipole
moment, which when placed in a magnetic field, interact with one
another, and get spontaneously aligned in a common direction, which
results in its magnetization. As per Curie’s law, the magnetism of a
paramagnetic substance is inversely proportional to the absolute
temperature, until it reaches a state of saturation.
PARAMAGNETIC
Paramagnetic materials have a small susceptibility to magnetic fields
meaning that they are slightly attracted by a magnetic field. However,
unlike ferromagnetic materials they do not maintain their magnetic
properties once the external magnetic field is removed.
Most elements are paramagnetic, however, because their attractive force is
many thousands of times weaker than ferromagnetic material they are
also generally considered as ‘non-magnetic’.
FERROMAGNETIC
Ferromagnetic materials have some unpaired electrons in their
atoms and therefore generate a net magnetic field, albeit a very
weak one. This is because the individual atoms or groups of
atoms, known as magnetic domains, are randomly aligned
cancelling each other out.
When an external magnetic field is applied to the ferromagnetic
material the individual domains are forced into alignment which
they maintain once the external field is removed therefore
maintaining their magnetism, known as remanence. Iron, nickel
and cobalt are all ferromagnetic materials.
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Ferromagnetic substances are those substances that when it’s placed in an
external magnetic field, get strongly magnetized. Also, they tend to move
from a region of weak to the region of a strong magnetic field and get
strongly attracted to a magnet. In a ferromagnetic material, the individual
atoms possess a dipole moment, similar to a paramagnetic material. When
placed in a magnetic field, the atoms interact with one another and get
spontaneously aligned in a common direction. The direction is common
over a macroscopic volume which we term as a domain. The domain has a
net magnetization and each domain directs itself, which results in its
strong magnetization.
MAGNETIC RAW MATERIALS

All the permanent magnets in the world are currently made

from five types of material each with very different
characteristics. The five types are alnico, ferrite, flexible rubber,
and the rare earth magnets samarium cobalt, and neodymium.
Read on to find out about each raw material, how the types of
permanent magnets are made, and each one’s magnetic
properties.
FERRITE (FE)
What is Ferrite?
Ferrite is a term used to refer to pure iron, the most easily recognisable
ferromagnetic material. It is also a term used to describe ferrite magnetic
material which is a compound consisting of strontium carbonate or barium
and iron oxide (Fe2O3).
Ferrite magnets have low production costs but are also much weaker than
rare earth samarium cobalt and neodymium magnets. Because of their low
production costs they are one of the most widely used magnetic materials
when high magnetic performance is not the most important factor.
Magnetic Properties
Ferrite magnets are inexpensive to produce which is relative to their overall
magnetic strength. Despite being significantly weaker than rare earth materials
they are still widely used in many commercial applications. The main strength of
ferrite magnets is their resistance to demagnetization and corrosion.
NEODYMIUM (NDFEB)
What is Neodymium?
Neodymium (Nd) is a rare earth element with the atomic number 60 that was
discovered in 1885 by Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach. Although part of
the rare earth family neodymium is relatively abundant and is no rarer than
copper.
Neodymium is mixed with iron and boron as well as traces of other elements such
as dysprosium and praseodymium to produce a ferromagnetic alloy known as
Nd2Fe14b, the strongest magnetic material in the world. Developed in 1982 by
General Motors and Sumitomo Special Metals, neodymium magnets have replaced
other types of magnetic materials in many modern commercial and industrial
appliances.
Magnetic Properties
Neodymium magnets are the strongest magnets available and therefore have a
high power to volume and weight ratio. Because they are so strong it also means
they have a relatively low cost per unit of strength (Maximum Energy Product,
MGOe). They have an incredibly high resistance to being demagnetized but
generally have low maximum operating temperatures compared to other
materials and are susceptible to corrosion if their coating is damaged.
Other grades of neodymium magnet, including special high maximum operating
temperature grades are available. For more information regarding the properties
of grades not mentioned above, please refer to our neodymium magnet grades
page.
 Magnetic field strength and magnetic flux density are directly
related to each other. This relationship can be expressed
through the formula B = μH.

Magnetic permeability μ (Greek mu) is thus defined as μ = B/H.

Magnetic flux density B is a measure of the actual magnetic
field within a material considered as a concentration of
magnetic field lines, or flux, per unit cross-sectional area.

Magnetic susceptibility is the degree to which a material can be

magnetized in an external magnetic field. If the ratio between
the induced magnetization and the inducing field is expressed
per unit volume, volume susceptibility (k) is defined as.