Theory
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field.
This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most
notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other
ferromagnetic materials, such as iron and attracts or repels
other magnets.
A permanent magnet is an object made from a material that is
magnetized and creates its own persistent magnetic field. An
everyday example is a refrigerator used to hold notes on a
refrigerator door. Materials that can be magnetized, which are
also the ones that are strongly attracted to a magnet, are called
ferromagnetic. These include iron, nickel, cobalt, some alloys of
rare earth metals and some naturally occurring minerals such as
lodestone. Although ferromagnetic materials are the only ones
attracted to a magnet strongly enough to be commonly
considered magnetic, all other substances respond weakly to a
magnetic field by one of several other types of magnetism.
Ferromagnetic materials can be divided into magnetically ‘Soft’
materials like annealed iron, which can be magnetized but do
not tend to stay magnetized, and magnetically ‘hard’ materials
which tend to stay magnetized for longer. Permanent magnets
are made from these ‘hard’ ferromagnetic materials such as
alnico and ferrite that are subjected to special processing in a
powerful magnetic field during manufacture, to align their
internal microcrystalline structure, making them very hard to
demagnetize. To demagnetize a saturated magnet, a certain
magnetic field must be applied, and this threshold depends on
coercivity of the respective material. ‘Hard’ materials have high
coercivity; whereas ‘soft’ materials have low coercivity.
The overall strength of a magnet is measured by its magnetic
movement or alternatively the total magnetic flux it produces.
The local strength of magnetism in a material is measured by its
magnetization.
Procedure
COLD PROCESS
Place paperclips in a bowl.
Situate scale near bowl.
Weigh magnet and record.
Place magnet and freezer temperature in freezer set to
lowest temperature possible.
Wait approximately 20 minutes for the magnet to reach the
temperature of the freezer.
Record temperature read by freezer temperature.
Place magnet in bowl filled with paperclips.
Remove magnet and attached paperclips, and place on scale.
Record temperature of magnet and grams attracted.
Subtract the weight of the magnet from the combined weight
of the magnet and the paperclips.
Remove paperclips and place back in bowl.
Set freezer to 5 degrees Celsius higher than previous
temperature.
Repeat steps 4 – 12 until freezer and magnet have reached 0
degrees Celsius.
HOT PROCESS
Place paperclips in a bowl.
Situate scale near bowl.
Weigh magnet and record.
Place magnet in an oven set to highest temperature possible.
Wait approximately 20 minutes for the magnet to reach the
temperature of the oven.
Place magnet in a bowl filled with paperclips.
Remove magnet and attached paperclips, and place on scale.
Record temperature of magnet and grams attracted.
Subtract the weight of the magnet from the combined weight
of the magnet and the paperclips.
Remove paperclips and place back in bowl.
Allow magnet to rest for 5 minutes undisturbed.
Repeat steps 6 – 11 until magnet reaches room temperature.
Material Required
Safety glasses
3 – 4 permanent bar magnets
Tongs for magnet
Ice
Water
Insulating Container
Three strong bowls
Small pot
Burner for heating water on oven
Paper Clips
Conclusion
Magnetic materials should maintain a balance between
temperature and magnetic domains (the atoms’ inclination to
spin in a certain direction). When exposed to extreme
temperatures, however, this balance is destabilized, and
magnetic properties are affected. While cold strengths
magnets, heat can result in the class of magnetic properties.
In other words, too much heat can completely ruin a magnet.
Excessive heat causes atoms to move more rapidly, disturbing
the magnetic domains. As the atoms are sped up, the
percentage of magnetic domains spinning in the direction
decreases. This lack of cohesion weakens the magnetic force
and eventually demagnetizes it entirely.
In contrast, when a magnet is exposed to cold, the atoms
slow down, so the magnet domains are in turn,
strengthened.
Contents
Introduction
Objective
Material Required
Theory
Procedure
Observation
Conclusion
Introduction
Magnets are frequently used in daily life. For example,
magnets are used in manufacturing, security, entertainment
and play a pivotal role in the functioning of computers. Even
the earth itself is a magnet.
A magnet is any object that produces a magnetic field. Some
magnets, referred to as permanent hold their magnetism
without an external electric current. A magnet of this nature
can be created by exposing a piece of metal containing iron
to a number of situations. ( i.e. repeatedly jarring the metal,
heating to high temperature). Soft magnets, on the other
hand, are those that lose magnetic charge properties over
time. Additionally, paramagnetic objects are those that can
become magnetic only when in the presence of an external
magnetic field.
A magnetic field is the space surrounding a magnet in which
magnetic force is exerted. The motion of negatively charged
electrons in the magnet determines not only the polarity but
also the strength of the magnet.
Magnets are filled with magnetic lines of force. These lines
originate at the north pole of the magnet and continue to the
south pole. Magnetic lines of force do not intersect one
another. Magnetism is created by the alignment of small
domains within a specific set of metals. These domains
function as all atoms do. Thus, the temperature affects the
movement. The higher the heat, the greater the energy and
consequently greater the movement of the particles. In
contrast, cold temperature slows the movement and slower
movement leads to more fixed directions in terms of the
domains.
In the 19th century, Pierre Curie discovered that their exists a
temperature at which objects that were previously
permanently magnetic lose this characteristic. The
temperature at which this demagnetization occurs is called
the Curie point. As the temperature of the magnet
approaches this point, the alignment of each domain
decreases. As such, the magnetism decreases until the Curie
point is reached at which point the material becomes
paramagnetic.
Observation
MAGNETS UNDER
EXTREME HEAT
Time after removal from oven (minutes) Weight
attra
cted
(in
gram
s)
Weight Attracted 200
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0
5 200
10 240
20 210
25 230
30 220
35 206
40 204
45 200
50 185
MAGNETS UNDER
EXTREME COLD
Temperature
(degree celsius)
Weight attracted
(in grams)
-21.3 275
-19.4 275
-18.1 265
-15.3 270
-13.7 260
-6.7 245
-4.6 220
-1.7 200
0 225
Weight Attracted
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
