APPLIED PHYSICS

LAB MANUAL
MAGNETIC PHASE TRANSITIONS

INSTRUCTOR
Khola Anees
 TO DETERMINE THE CURIE TEMPERATURE OF
FERROMAGNETIC MATERIAL

3.1 Introduction
Magnetism is one aspect of the combined electromagnetic force. It refers to physical phenomena
arising from the force caused by magnets, objects that produce fields that attract or repel other
objects. The magnetic phenomenon is known since its inception. The ancient Greeks knew about
the magnetic force. Thales of Miletus is considered to have been the first man to study magnetic
forces. According to Lucretius, a Roman philosopher in the first century BC, the term magnet
was derived from the province of Magnesia.
The Earth itself is a giant magnet. The planet gets its magnetic field from circulating electric
currents within the molten metallic core. A compass points north because the small magnetic
needle in it is suspended so that it can spin freely inside its casing to align itself with the planet's
magnetic field.
Beginning from these very early discoveries in magnetism, from the Chinese invention of the
magnetic compass to the pioneering work of scientists such as Oersted, Ampere, Faraday,
Maxwell and Neel, we have come a long way in our understanding of magnetism. Today, a
complete understanding of magnetism requires a deep understanding of the branch of physics,
we call quantum physics, we can also interpret magnetism with the help of classical physics.
Nature has given us materials with diverse magnetic properties. Ranging from the strongly
magnetic, iron and cobalt to the weakly magnetic, rubber and water, there exists a remarkable
variety of magnetic materials. The kings of these materials are the ferromagnetic and
ferrimagnets that are used in inductors, transformers, motors and generators, antennas, audio and
video tapes, loudspeakers and microphones and the exotic giant magneto resistance (GMR)
devices. We could say that in electrical engineering, magnetic materials and devices are as
pervasive as oxygen! Without transformers with ferrite cores, for example, it would be almost
impossible to have the vast electric grid and supply systems that have transformed the fate of the
post-industrial man.
Magnetism takes many other forms, but except for ferromagnetism, they are usually too weak to
be observed except by sensitive laboratory instruments. Such as Paramagnetism, is the form
magnetism where certain materials are attracted by external magnetic field. Paramagnetism plays
a pivotal role in many important chemical processes such as catalysis. Furthermore, every
material exhibits some form of diamagnetism, pushing the material away from the strong
magnetic field. For example, superconductors are perfect diamagnets; they will repel strong
permanent magnets to the extent that they will hover in mid-air when placed on top of a magnet.
This principle of magnetic levitation is at the heart of the super-fast train, the MAGLEV.
The current experiment "Magnetic Phase Transitions" is quite different from other experiments.
It encourages the student to develop a deep understanding of magnetic materials especially
paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials. It also involves an informal discussion by the
instructor to discuss with the students about the instruments and its various features. Student will
learn about new equipment and electric components probe the safety features, will perform the
experiment under the watchful supervision of the demonstrator.
You must follow all safety procedures and warnings. The experiment involves very large electric
currents that can seriously risk your safety, well-being and life.
KEY CONCEPTS
Ferromagnetism - Paramagnetism - Curie point - Electrical Energy - Specific Heat Capacity -
Stefan-Boltzmann Law - Variable Transformer - Digital Multimeter - Clamp meter - Electrical
Safety
APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 4 Hours
3.2 Learning Outcomes
In this experiment, we will
1. learn how to handle large currents safely;
2. understand the role of insulators and conductors;
3. familiarize ourselves with common electrical test equipment such as the voltmeter,
ammeter, multimeter, clamp meter and circuit components such as the circuit breaker and
variable transformer (VARIAC);
 4. learn to interpret important thermal and electrical properties of materials;
5. appreciate the instantaneous nature of phase transitions; and finally,
6. appreciate the inter-relationship between electricity, magnetism and thermodynamics.
3.3 Experimental Objectives
The experiment determines the Curie point of a ferromagnetic material as its temperature is
raised with the help of resistive heating. Besides the monitoring of the phase transition, we will
also learn about the use of electrical measurement equipment and safety practices that must be
observed when designing, operating or testing electric equipment.
3.4 Theoretical Introduction
3.4.1 Magnetism in Materials
To a very good first approximation, the origin of magnetism in materials lies in the motion of
electrons. The magnetic material can be thought of as being composed of elementary magnets
also called magnetic dipoles. These are similar to tiny magnets with a north and south pole. An
atom contains electrons in motion. These electrons constitute a current and hence, produce a
magnetic field. One such atom can be thought of as an elementary magnet. Now the material as a
whole, will be made up of many elementary magnets. The arrangement and orientation of these
elementary magnets determine the overall magnetic properties.
Paramagnetic Materials
In paramagnetic materials, the elementary magnets are all randomly oriented. Suppose, we draw
a tiny vector corresponding to the orientation of the dipole. Now take the vector sum of these
dipoles. What do we get? The resultant is zero, showing that in the absence of an external field,
the paramagnetic material is un-magnetized. However, this observation does not mean that there
are no elementary magnets. The elementary dipoles still exist; it just happens that they
completely cancel the effect of one another.
Once we apply an external field with intensity H, the dipoles rotate and tend to orient in the
direction of the field. This overall alignment results in a net magnetization M of the sample. The
alignment, however, is by no means perfect. At any higher temperature than absolute zero, the
thermal agitation will kick them out of perfect alignment. The situation is clearly depicted in
Figure 3.1. The magnetization vector is defined as,

∑ ⃗μk
k
M=
⃗
V
where ⃗μk is the dipole moment of the elementary magnet and V is the total volume of the sample.
 Figure 3.1: The alignment of the elementary magnets in a paramagnetic sample. (a)
Shows the situation when the applied field is zero. (b) As the applied field intensity
H is increased, the magnets preferentially tip in the direction of the applied field,
resulting in a net magnetization of the sample.

Ferromagnetic Materials
On a microscopic level, approximately millionth of a meter, metals look like drought struck soil
of the summer sun. These ‘cracked segments’ are called grains and the cracks are called grain
boundaries. As the name suggests, grain boundaries separate one grain from another.
Ferromagnetic materials are quite distinct in their character from paramagnetic materials.
Ferromagnets have regions called magnetic domains. Elementary magnets within each domain
are aligned with respect to one another, even though the domains can be aligned in all possible
directions.
As the applied field intensity H is increased, the domains that are favourably aligned, i.e., tilted
towards the applied field, grow in size and the unfavourably oriented domains shrink. As the
applied field is ramped up, the growing domain engulfs the smaller domains with the result that
there is one domain per grain. Finally, with a sufficiently strong field, the magnetization of the
grain (=magnetization of the domain) rotates so as to align itself with the applied field.
Figure 3.2: The magnetic moments, domains and grains in a ferromagnetic material. (a) The grains
and domains in a polycrystalline material. One grain comprises several domains and the
magnetization within a domain is indicated by a purple arrow. (b) Domain microstructure of an
amorphous ribbon. (c-g) illustrations for a single grain. (c) The magnetization is zero in the absence
of the applied field intensity H. (d-f) As the applied field increases, domains grow and shrink, to the
extent that there is only one domain per grain, and (g) finally, the magnetization rotates in the
direction of the applied field.

Curie Temperature
In physics and materials science, the Curie temperature (T c), or Curie point, is the temperature
where a material's permanent magnetism changes to induced magnetism. The force of magnetism
is determined by magnetic moments.
The Curie temperature is the critical point where a material's intrinsic magnetic moments change
direction. Magnetic moments are permanent dipole moments within the atom which originate
from electrons' angular momentum and spin. Materials have different structures of intrinsic
magnetic moments that depend on temperature. At a material's Curie Temperature those intrinsic
magnetic moments change direction.
Ferromagnets have a much higher magnetization than paramagnets. In addition, the phenomenon
of ferromagnetism comes about due to a totally different mechanism. In ferromagnetic materials,
the elementary magnets act in a cooperative fashion, forcing neighbouring magnets to align
within themselves. Soon all elementary magnets within a domain are unitedly pointing in one
direction. This configuration lowers the energy, called the exchange energy.
The exchange energy, however, acts in conflict with the thermal energy that tends to misalign the
elementary magnets. As the temperature is increased, the thermal energy starts dominating over
the exchange energy and the magnetization drops. However, the material is still ferromagnetic as
the domain structure is preserved. Above a critical temperature, the Curie temperature T c, the
ferromagnet suddenly turns into a paramagnet. The T c 's of the most common ferromagnets are
presented in the table given below.

Elements T c ( ℃)

Fe 770

Ni 358

Co 1127

Gd 16

3.4.2 Electrical Energy

Electrical energy is the energy newly derived from electric potential energy. When loosely used
to describe energy absorbed or delivered by an electrical circuit (for example, one provided by an
electric power utility) “electrical energy” talks about energy which has been converted from
electrical potential energy.
3.4.3 Specific Heat Capacity
Temperature and heat are not the same thing:
 temperature is a measure of how hot something is

 heat is a measure of the thermal energy contained in an object.

Temperature is measured in °C, and heat is measured in J. When heat energy is transferred to an
object, its temperature increase depends upon the:
 the mass of the object

 the substance the object is made from

 the amount energy transferred to the object.

For a particular object, the more heat energy transferred to it, the greater its temperature increase.
The specific heat capacity of a substance is the amount of energy needed to change the
temperature of 1 kg of the substance by 1°C. Different substances have different specific heat
capacities. The table shows some examples.

Heat Capacities of Different Substances

Substance Specific heat capacity in J / kg °C

Water 4181

Oxygen 918

Lead 128

3.5 Stefan-Boltzmann Law

Stefan–Boltzmann law states that the total radiant heat energy emitted from a surface is
proportional to the fourth power of its absolute temperature.
Formulated in 1879 by Austrian physicist Josef Stefan as a result of his experimental studies, the
same law was derived in 1884 by Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann from thermodynamic
considerations: if  E is the radiant heat energy emitted from a unit area in one second and T is the
absolute temperature (in degrees Kelvin), then  E=σ T 4, the Greek letter sigma (σ) representing
the constant of proportionality, called the Stefan–Boltzmann constant. This constant has the
value 5.6704 ×10−8 watt per m2 K 4 . The law applies only to blackbodies, theoretical surfaces that
absorb all incident heat radiations.
3.6 Apparatus and Experimental Preparation
There are several examples of undergraduate experiments used to determine the T c for various
materials. A schematic sketch of the apparatus is shown in Figure 1.4 and photographs of some
of the components are presented in Figure 3.3. Given below is a short description of the
equipment used.
3.6.1 Variable Transformer (VARIAC)
The VARIAC (Electrodynamics Works, Karachi) is a variable transformer. The AC mains
supply from WAPDA (or the local generator) is connected across the primary coil and the
variable output is taken from the sliding contact on the output side. The voltage is step down in
the ratio of
V out N out I out
= =
V¿ N¿ I¿
where N ¿ and N out are the total number of turns in the primary coil and the turns between the
output tap and ground.
3.6.2 Digital Multimeter
A digital multimeter (GW-INSTEK GDM-451) measures the output voltage from the VARIAC.
3.6.3 Clamp Meter
Currents are measured with the help of a clamp meter (Kyoritsu). The jaws of the clamp meter
surround the wire through which the current is to be determined.
3.6.4 Control Box
The control box has been designed and assembled in-house and serves as the main electric
distribution box for the experiment. The panel is fitted with an analog voltmeter and ammeter
that measure, respectively, the AC mains voltage and the current through the heating element.
However, we will use the clamp meter for the most accurate current readings. The box is also
fitted with a red emergency stop button. The button can be reset by turning it clockwise and
releasing.
The control box is also fitted with a circuit breaker (Terasaki) rated at 15A. As soon as the
current goes beyond the rated value, the circuit breaker trips and opens the circuit; the current
drops to zero. For electric protection of the circuit components, a magnetic contactor (NHD
Industrial Co., Taiwan, SC-16) has also been used.
The exposed metal parts of the apparatus, including the mounting screws of the control box, have
all been earthed. This prevents electric shocks if by accident or damage, a live wire comes in
contact with the metal body.
3.6.5 Ferromagnetic Heating Element
In our experiment, current passes through a ferromagnetic heating element. The element we have
chosen is a commercially available material called Kanthal-D (Kanthal and Hyndman Industrial
Products). We will use a heating element approximately 100 cm in length and wound into a
spiral shape. Some important properties of Kanthal-D alloy are also presented in the table given
below.

Property Value

Composition 73% Fe 22%Cr 4.8%Al

Specific heat capacity c 460 J kg-1 K-1

Resistivity ρ at 20℃ 1.39 Ω mm2 m-1

Emissivity ε 0.7
 Density 7.25 g cm-3

Melting point 1500 ℃

3.6.6 Pole for Kanthal and Magnet Assembly

The pole for the Kanthal and magnet assembly was fabricated locally (Noor Trading and
Consultancy, Rawalpindi) and modified in-house. The Kanthal wire is hooked up between
porcelain insulators fixed to the top and bottom arms (see Figure 3.3(e)). The middle arm has an
array of ferrite disk magnets (Hall Road) epoxied onto an alumina silicate base. The whole pole
assembly is made of mild steel.

(a) (b)

(c) (d) (e)

 (f)
Figure 3.3: Photographs of selected components: (a) VARIAC, (b) electric panel box (control box),
(c) digital multimeter, (d) clamp meter, (e) pole for ferromagnetic heating element, (f) Kanthal
wire.

Figure 3.4: Schematic diagram of the experimental setup

3.7 Experimental Procedure

3.7.1 Inspection
The mains supply is still switched off. Follow all the rules and safety procedures. In this section,
we will test the safety features of the circuit. The electric current in this experiment can kill!
Follow all rules.
1. Visualize and sketch a possible circuit diagram for the experiment? (can be hold for
viva question)
2. Check the zero error for the analog voltmeter and ammeter on the control box. Use the
adjusting screw at the base of the pointer to correct.
3. Attach a three-pin shoe to the WAPDA's mains.
4. Ask the instructor to check the electrical connections. Do not attempt to switch on the
mains supply in the absence of the demonstrator.
5. Set the regulator on the VARIAC to its minimum output voltage, zero.
6. Press the green START button on the control box.
7. Check that there is no current leakage using a tester in all three components (VARIAC,
control box and pole). Put the tester on bare metal surface to check for leakage.
8. Slowly increase the output voltage (voltage from the output of the VARIAC) to 15 V.
Check for current leakage again.
9. What is the reading on the clamp meter?
10. Test the emergency stop button. Does the clamp meter reading go to zero? If it doesn't,
immediately inform the instructor.
11. Set the regulator on the VARIAC to its minimum output voltage, zero again and press
the green START button.
12. Test the circuit breaker.
13. Hook the clamp meter to the WAPDA mains and measure the current.
3.7.2 Measurement of Curie Temperature
1. Set the output voltage regulator on the VARIAC to 22 V and press the green START
button.
2. Measure the current (using the clamp meter) and the time it takes the wire to reach the
Curie temperature. You will be provided with a stopwatch.
3. When the heating element snaps away from the magnet, immediately press the red STOP
button to switch o the circuit.
4. Switch off the mains supply.
3.8 Calculations
The electrical energy supplied in a certain interval of time is defined as
E=VIt
In the present experiment, this energy is used up in two processes:
1. absorbed by the heating element, raising its temperature from the ambient room
temperature T 0 to the Curie temperature T c ; and
2. radiated away by the heating element.
The energy absorbed Ea may be expressed as
Ea =mc(T c −T 0)

where m is the mass of the wire and c the specific heat capacity. The mass can be measured using
the provided weigh balance.
The energy radiated ( Er ) form the wire is,

Er =εσS (T 4c −T 04)t

where T c is the Curie temperature, ε is the emissivity, σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (

σ =5.675 ×10−8 W /m2 K 4) and S is the surface area of the heating element.
3.9 MATLAB Task
Run MATLAB on the PC and solve the energy balance equation using command.
≫ solve('equation')
where equation is inserted within single quotes and represents the MATLAB format for the
energy balance equation.
3.10 Experiment Questions
Q. No. 1 What is coercivity?
Q. No. 2 Which material has more coercivity; soft iron or steel?
Q. No. 3 Why we use AC current in our household usage?
Q. No. 4 What is the composition of Kanthal-D wire?
Q. No. 5 What is the reason of Earth’s magnetic field?
Q. No. 6 Distinguish between hard magnetic materials and soft magnetic materials?
Q. No. 7 Which magnetic material is used in the core of the transformer?
Q. No. 8 Which one is better to make permanent magnet; steel or iron?
Q. No. 9 How does a clamp meter work? Will the clamp meter work for direct current
(DC)?
Q. No. 10 What is the difference between a circuit breaker and a fuse?
 Q. No. 11 What is the function of the earth wire? Draw a simple diagram to describe your
reasoning?
Q. No. 12 What is the role of the magnetic contactor in the circuit?
Q. No. 13 Why have we used metal to construct the pole?
Q. No. 14 Why have we used porcelain for mounting the heating element on the pole?
Q. No. 15 Why cannot we attach the magnets directly to the metallic post? Why do we need
to insert the alumina silicate ceramic in between?
Q. No. 16 In the experiment we will use a tester to detect current leakage. The tester is made
to touch a conductor. If the conductor is live, a small bulb inside the tester will
glow. How does a tester work?
Q. No. 17 What are the different colour codes for wires in live, neutral, earth? Suggest why
do we have two additional colors.
Q. No. 18 What is Exchange energy?
Q. No. 19 What will happen when thermal energy overcomes the exchange energy?
Q. No. 20 Identify any three paramagnetic materials in your surroundings?
3.11 References
[1] “Specific heat capacity”, Web: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa/
heatingandcooling/buildingsrev3.shtml.
[2] S. O. Kasap, “Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices”, McGraw Hill, (2006).
[3] W. D. Callister, “Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction”, 6th Edition,
John Wiley & Sons., (2004).
[4] R. Schaeffer, G. Herzer, “Continuous magnetization patterns in amorphous ribbons”,
IEEE Trans. Magn. 37, 2245 (2001).
[5] S. Valesco, F. L. Roman, “Determining the Curie temperature for iron and nickel”,
Phys. Teacher 45, 387 (2007).
[6] T. Lewowski, K. Wozniak, “Measurement of Curie temperature for gadolinium: a
laboratory experiment for students”, Eur. J. Phys. 18, 453 (1997).
[7] “Electrical energy”, Web: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_energy.
[8] C. Kizowski, S. Budzik, J. Cebulski, “Finding the Curie temperature for ferromagnetic
materials”, Phys. Teacher 45, 31 (2007).
[9] “Resistance heating alloys and systems for industrial furnaces”, Kanthal, Web:
http://ravi.lums.edu.pk/physlab.
[10] M. Connors, “Measurement and analysis of the field of disk magnets”, Phys. Teacher
40, 308 (2002).
[11] J. P. V. Hof, J.A. Bain, R.M. White, J-G. Zhu, “An undergraduate laboratory in
magnetic recording fundamentals”, IEEE. Trans. Educat. 44, 224 (2001).
[12] A. A. Clauss, R. M. Ralich, R. D. Ramsier, “Hysteresis in a light bulb: connecting
electricity and thermodynamics with simple experiments and simulations”, Eur. J. Phys.
22, 385 (2001).