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History of Magnets
The word magnet comes from the Greek "magnítis líthos", which means
"Magnesian Stone". Magnesia is an area in Greece (Now Manisa, Turkey)
where deposits of magnetite have been discovered since antiquity.
The first magnets were not invented, but rather were found from a naturally
occurring mineral called magnetite. Traditionally, the ancient Greeks were the
discoverers of magnetite. There is a story about a shepherd named Magnes
whose shoe nails stuck to a rock containing magnetite.
The mineral magnetite is an iron oxide that is easily magnetized when it
forms. Magnetite is also known as Lodestone.
lodestone or "leading stone."
Types of Magnets
Permanent magnets are magnets retain their magnetism once magnetized.
Temporary magnets are materials magnets that perform like permanent magnets when in the
presence of a magnetic field, but lose magnetism when not in a magnetic field.
Electromagnets are wound coils of wire that function as magnets when an electrical current is
passed through. By adjusting the strength and direction of the current, the strength of the
magnet is also altered.
Permanent Magnets – Permanent magnets are those magnets, retain a certain level of degree
of magnetism once they get magnetized. These magnets are usually made up of ferromagnetic
material. These are composed of atoms and molecules where each has a magnetic field and are
positioned to reinforce each other. There are different types of permanent magnets that have
different characteristics depending on how easily they can be demagnetized, how their strength
varies with different temperature and how strong they are.
There are four classes of permanent magnets:
Temporary Magnets – Temporary magnets are those magnets which acts like a permanent
magnet while they are within a strong magnetic field. They lose their magnetism when
magnetic field get disappeared. For Example- paper clips and nails.
The materials which are repelled by a magnet such as zinc. mercury, lead, sulfur, copper, silver,
bismuth, wood etc., are known as diamagnetic materials.
Those substances which are feebly magnetized in the direction opposite to the applied field are called
diamagnetic material. Examples of diamagnetic materials are bismuth, copper, water, mercury, alcohol,
argon, gold,tin, mercury, antimony etc. The magnetic moment of atoms of a diamagnetic material is
zero. They acquire induced dipole moments when the material placed in an external magnetic field.
These moments are in opposite in the direction to the applied field.
Some properties
Paramagnetic Material
The materials which are not strongly attracted to a magnet are known as paramagnetic
material. For example: aluminium, tin magnesium etc. Their relative permeability is small but
positive.
Those materials which are weekly magnetized in the same direction of the applied magnetic field are
called paramagnetic material. The examples of paramagnetic materials are aluminum, chromium,
oxygen, manganese, alkali, alkaline earth metal etc.
The paramagnetic materials have permanent magnetic moments. These moments interacts weekly with
each other and randomly orient in the different direction.
Some Properties
Ferromagnetic Material
The materials which are strongly attracted by a magnetic field or magnet is known as
ferromagnetic material for eg: iron, steel , nickel, cobalt etc.
The ferromagnetic materials are highly magnetized in a magnetic field. The examples of ferromagnetic
materials are iron, nickel and cobalt, and their alloys such as alnico. Gadolinium and dysprosium are
ferromagnetic at low temperature.
Some Properties