How can non magnetic iron be made magnetic

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These items can be magnetized but will not hold their field and are much more likely to lose their magnetic field than are permanent magnets. In most materials, electrons spin randomly. But in magnets the electrons group into magnetic domains, created whenever the spin of a number of electrons line up in the same direction.

This happens in iron, nickel, or cobalt. If a majority of magnetic domains match spins, then that material is said to be magnetic. That material then has a north pole, a south pole, and a magnetic field, each determined by the directions of the spins. These domains support each other by pulling more in the same direction, resulting in an overall magnetic field. Each time the paperclips are placed on the permanent magnet, the paperclips are being magnetized because their unpaired electrons are being organized.

As long as they remain organized, the paperclips will act like magnets. But as soon as their order is disrupted, by dropping them or by introducing another magnetic field, the magnetism is lost until something can reorganize the electrons.

For more information contact MagLab educator Carlos Villa. Search Query Submit Search. By Michael Irving. Facebook Twitter Flipboard LinkedIn. Researchers have induced magnetism in pyrite, a non-magnetic material, using electricity. View 1 Image. Michael Irving. Michael has always been fascinated by space, technology, dinosaurs, and the weirder mysteries of the universe.

With a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing and several years experience under his belt, he joined New Atlas as a staff writer in Popular Stories.

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