CHAPTER 6

MAGNETIC MATERIALS

Macroscopic Observation

The first step in any characterisation of a material or an object made of a material is often a
macroscopic observation. This is simply looking at the material with the naked eye. This simple
process can yield a large amount of information about the material such as the colour of the
material, its lustre (does it display a metallic lustre), its shape (whether it displays a regular,
crystalline form), its composition (is it made up of different phases), its structural features (does it
contain porosity) etc. Often, this investigation yields clues as to what other tests could be
performed to fully identify the material or to solve a problem that has been experienced in use.

Microscopic Observation
Microscopy is a technique that, combined with other scientific techniques and chemical
processes, allows the determination of both the composition and the structure of a material. It is
essentially the process of viewing the structure on a much finer scale than is possible with the
naked eye and is necessary because many of the properties of materials are dependent on
extremely fine features and defects that are only possible to observe using one of the following
techniques in this field.
MAGNETIC TERMS

■ Flux​ - Invisible lines of force.

■ Poles​ - North and South where force is strongest.

■ Permeability​ – The ability of a material to conduct lines of force.

■ Residual Magnetism​ – The ability of a material to hold its magnetism for a long time.

■ Ferromagnetic Material​ – A material easy to magnetize. (i.e., Iron Steel, Cobalt, Perm-alloy, and
Alnico)

■ Paramagnetic Material-​ A material that can be slightly magnetized.

■ Diamagnetic Material​ – A material that is very difficult to magnetize.

Magnetic Laws​ – Simply stated: Like poles repel and unlike poles attract

Magnetism: -

● Phenomenon of attracting magnetic substances like iron, nickel, cobalt, etc.

● A body possessing the property of magnetism is called a magnet.
● A magnetic pole is a point near the end of the magnet where magnetism is concentrated.
● Earth is a natural magnet.
● The region around a magnet in which it exerts forces on other magnets and on objects made of
iron is a magnetic field.

● A very strong magnet can be made with a coil of wire and the flow of an electric current.
Removing Magnetism

● Heat is one way to remove magnetism

 Properties of a bar magnet:

1. A freely suspended magnet aligns itself along North – South direction.

2. Unlike poles attract and like poles repel each other.

3. Magnetic poles always exist in pairs. i.e. Poles can not be separated.

4. A magnet can induce magnetism in other magnetic substances.

5. It attracts magnetic substances.

Repulsion is the surest test of magnetization:

A magnet attracts iron rod as well as opposite pole of other magnet. Therefore it is not a sure
test of magnetization.

But, if a rod is repelled with strong force by a magnet, then the rod is surely magnetized.

● Representation of Uniform Magnetic Field:

Uniform field on the

plane of the diagram

● Magnetic Dipole & Dipole Moment:

A pair of magnetic poles of equal and opposite strengths separated by a finite distance is
called a magnetic dipole. The magnitude of dipole moment is the product of the pole strength
m and the separation 2l between the poles.

Magnetic Dipole Moment is M = m.2l.

​Magnetic Intensity or Magnetizing force (H):

i) Magnetic Intensity at a point is the force experienced by a north pole of unit pole
strength placed at that point due to pole strength of the given magnet. H=B/μ
ii) It is also defined as the magnetomotive force per unit length.
iii) It can also be defined as the degree or extent to which a magnetic field can
magnetise a substance.
 iv) It can also be defined as the force experienced by a unit positive charge flowing
with unit velocity in a direction normal to the magnetic field.
v) Its SI unit is ampere-turns per linear metre.
vi) Its cgs unit is oersted.

Magnetic Field Strength or Magnetic Field or Magnetic Induction or Magnetic Flux Density (B):

i) Magnetic Flux Density is the number of magnetic lines of force passing normally
through a unit area of a substance. B = μ H
ii) Its SI unit is weber-m​-2​ or Tesla (T).
iii) Its cgs unit is gauss. 1 gauss = 10​-4​ Tesla

MAGNETIC PARAMETERS

1. Magnetic Permeability (μ):

The property of material by virtue of which it allows itself to be magnetized.

It is the ratio of magnetic field density to magnetic field strength. It accepts magnetization. It
varies material to material depending on temperature, saturation.It is the degree or extents to
which magnetic lines of force can pass enter a substance. A good magnetic material should have
high value of permeability. Magnetic field density is directly proportional to field intensity. Its SI
unit is T m A​-1​ or wb A​-1​ m​-1​ or H m​-1​ .

Permeability Concept
• For some materials, the net magnetic dipole moment per unit volume is proportional to the H
field
M = ​χ​m​ H

χ​m ​is Magnetic Susceptibility (dimensionless)

The units of both M and H are A/m

2.Magnetic Susceptibility (​χ​m​ ):

i) It is the property of the substance which shows how easily a substance can be
magnetised.
ii) It can also be defined as the ratio of intensity of magnetisation (I) in a substance to the
magnetic intensity (H) applied to the substance.
iii) Xm =I/H
iv) Susceptibility has no unit.

3.Intensity of Magnetisation: (I):

i) It is the degree to which a substance is magnetized when placed in a magnetic field.

ii) It can also be defined as the magnetic dipole moment (M) acquired per unit volume of
the substance (V).
iii) It can also be defined as the pole strength (m) per unit cross-sectional area (A) of the
substance.
iv) I=M/V
 v) I = m(2l) / A(2l) = m / A
vi) SI unit of Intensity of Magnetization is A m​-1​.
vii) Magnetic field gets redistributed when placed in solid and no field.

4. Curie Temperature (C):-

i) The temperature above which ferromagnetic material looses their magnetic properties.
ii) Above C temp, domain structure for gets destructed and domain looses their alignment.

Relation between Magnetic Permeability (μr) & Susceptibility (​(​χ​m​):

μr = 1 + ​χ​m

5.Magnetic Dipole Moment:-​ (μ​m​)

i) It is the product of pole strength (m) and distance between poles(d).

ii) It is a vector quantity.
iii) It is directed from South pole to North pole.
iv) Its direction is given by right hand screw rule.

6. Relation between B and H:

B=μH (where μ is the permeability of the medium

7.Magnetic Flux (Φ):

i) It is defined as the number of magnetic lines of force passing normally through a surface.
ii) Its SI unit is weber.

8. Relative Magnetic Permeability (μr):

It is the ratio of magnetic flux density in a material to that in vacuum.

µ​r​ =B/B​0 or​ µ​

​ r​ =µ/µ​0

It can also be defined as the ratio of absolute permeability of the material to that in vacuum.

Curie’s Law:

Magnetic susceptibility of a material varies inversely with the absolute temperature.

Xm α 1 / T

Xm = C / T

(Where C is Curie constant)

Curie temperature for iron is 1000 K, for cobalt 1400 Kand for nickel 600 K.

Magnetized Materials
■ A material is said to be ​magnetized ​when induced magnetic dipoles are present.
■ The presence of the induced magnetic dipoles modifies the magnetic field both inside and
outside of the magnetized material.
Permanent Magnets
■ Most materials lose their magnetization when the external magnetic field is removed.
■ A material that remains magnetized in the absence of an applied magnetic field is called a
permanent magnet​.
Magnetization Vector
■ The ​magnetization​ ​or​ net magnetic dipole moment per unit volume​ is given by

[​ A/m] Number of dipoles per unit volume [m​-3​ average magnetic

dipole moment [Am​2​]

Magnetic Materials

■ The effect of an applied electric field on a ​magnetic​ material is to create a net magnetic dipole
moment per unit volume ​M​.

■ The dipole moment distribution sets up induced secondary fields:

Total field Field in free space due to sources Field due to induced magnetic dipoles

Permeability Concept

■ For some materials, the ​net magnetic dipole moment per unit volume​ is proportional to the ​H
field

• magnetic the units of both ​M​ and ​H​ are A/m.

susceptibility
(dimensionless)

Relative Permeability

■ The ​relative permeability​ of a magnetic material is the ratio of the permeability of the magnetic
material to the permeability of free space
TYPES OF MAGNETISM

Diamagnetic Materials

■ In the absence of applied magnetic field, each atom has net zero magnetic dipole moment.

■ In the presence of an applied magnetic field, the angular velocities of the electronic orbits are
changed.

■ These induced magnetic dipole moments align themselves ​opposite​ to the applied field.

■ Thus, ​χ​m​ < 0 and ​m​r​ < 1.

■ Usually, diamagnetism is a very miniscule effect in natural materials - that is ​m​r​ ≈ 1.

■ Diamagnetism can be a big effect in ​superconductors​ and in ​artificial materials​.

■ Diamagnetic materials are repelled from either pole of a magnet.

Paramagnetic Materials

■ In the absence of applied magnetic field, each atom has net non-zero (but weak) magnetic
dipole moment. These magnetic dipoles moments are randomly oriented so that the net
macroscopic magnetization is zero.

■ In the presence of an applied magnetic field, the magnetic dipoles align themselves with the
applied field so that ​χ​m​ > 0 and µ​r​ > 1.

■ Usually, paramagnetism is a very miniscule effect in natural materials - that is µ​r​ ≈ 1.

■ Paramagnetic materials are (weakly) attracted to either pole of a magnet.

Magnetic field surrounding a bar magnet

Magnetic Flux & Flux Density

Magnetic Flux ( Ø) is measured in webers (Wb)

 magnetic flux density = magnetic flux/area

B = Φ / A (measured in tesla (T) )

MAGNETIC COIL LOSSES

■ Copper losses​ - resistance of copper coils.

■ Hysteresis​ - magnetic flux inducing a current in the core.

■ Eddy currents​ - magnetic polarity of the iron core is rapidly changed by an AC current
causing friction and heat between the molecules

Complex permeability:

In ​electromagnetism​, ​permeability is the measure of the ability of a material to support the

formation of a ​magnetic field within itself. In other words, it is the degree of ​magnetization that a
material obtains in response to an applied ​magnetic field​. Magnetic permeability is typically
represented by the Greek letter ​μ​. The term was coined in September, 1885 by ​Oliver Heaviside​.
The reciprocal of magnetic permeability is ​magnetic reluctivity​.
In ​SI​ units, permeability is measured in ​henrys​ per meter (H·m​−1​), or ​newtons​ per ​ampere​ squared
(N·A​−2​). The permeability constant (μ​0​), also known as the ​magnetic constant​ or the permeability
of free space, is a measure of the amount of resistance encountered when forming a magnetic field
in a classical ​vacuum​. The magnetic constant has the exact (defined) value µ​0​ = 4π×10​−7​ ≈
1.2566370614…×10​−6​ H·m​−1​ or N·A​−2​).
A closely related property of materials is ​magnetic susceptibility​, which is a measure of the
magnetization of a material in addition to the magnetization of the space occupied by the material.

A useful tool for dealing with high frequency magnetic effects is the complex permeability. While
at low frequencies in a linear material the magnetic field and the auxiliary magnetic field are
simply proportional to each other through some scalar permeability, at high frequencies these
quantities will react to each other with some lag time.​[17] These fields can be written as ​phasors​,
such that

Where is the phase delay of from . Understanding permeability as the ratio of the
magnetic field to the auxiliary magnetic field, the ratio of the phasors can be written and
simplified as
So that the permeability becomes a complex number. By ​Euler's formula​, the complex
permeability can be translated from polar to rectangular form,

The ratio of the imaginary to the real part of the complex permeability is called the ​loss tangent​,

Which provides a measure of how much power is lost in a material versus how much is stored.

Hard and Soft Magnetic Materials

Hard Magnetic Materials:

i) Materials which retain their magnetism and are difficult to demagnetize are called hard
magnetic materials.

ii) These materials retain their magnetism even after the removal of applied magnetic field.
Hence these materials are used for making permanent magnets.

iii)They have large hysteresis loss due to large hysteresis loop area.

iv)Susceptibility and permeability are low.

v) Coercivity and retentivity values large.

vi)Magnetic energy stored is high.

vii)They possess high value of BH product.

viii)The eddy current loss is high.

ix) Example Carbon Steel ,Tungsten – Steel ,Cobalt – steel,Copper nickel iron alloy Etc

x)Used in measuring instruments , Magnetic detectors , Permanent Magnet etc..

Soft Magnetic Materials:

i)Soft magnetic materials are easy to magnetize and demagnetize.

 ii)These materials are used for making temporary magnets.

iii)They have low hysteresis loss due to small hysteresis area.

iv) Susceptibility and permeability are high.

v)Coercivity and retentivity values are less.

vi) Since they have low retentivity and coercivity, they are used for making permanent magnets.

vii)Magnetic energy stored is less.

viii)The eddy current loss is less because of high resistivity.

ix)Iron, Si – Steel, Alloy steel, Soft ferritesEtc

x) Construction of transformer core , Core of electrical machines , Core of reactors, Making

electromagnets Etc

Ferro magnetic materials:

• Materials such as iron, steel, cobalt, nickel and a number of alloys which are attracted by
magnets are called ferromagnetic materials.

• Any of these materials can become magnetised when ‘stroked’ with another magnet. This is
called induced magnetism.

• Ferromagnetic materials can be subdivided into hard and soft magnetic materials.

• Hard materials retain their magnetism once they have become magnetised, so forming
permanent magnets.

• The magnetism induced in soft magnetic materials is lost as soon as the source of the
magnetism is removed.

■ In the absence of applied magnetic field, each atom has very strong magnetic dipole moments
due to uncompensated electron spins.

■ Regions of many atoms with aligned dipole moments called ​domains​ f​ orm.

■ In the absence of applied magnetic field, the ​domains​ are randomly oriented so that the net
macroscopic magnetization is zero.

■ In the presence of an applied magnetic field, the domains align themselves with the applied field.

■ The effect is a very strong one with ​χ​m​ >> 0 and µ​r​ >> 1.

■ Ferromagnetic materials are strongly attracted to either pole of a magnet.

■ In ferromagnetic materials:
 ■ the permeability is much larger than the permeability of free space

■ the permeability is very non-linear

■ the permeability depends on the previous history of the material

■ In ferromagnetic materials, the relationship ​B​ = µ​H​ can be illustrated by means of a

magnetization curve​ (also called ​hysteresis loop​).

​remanence
(retentivity)​ ​coercivity
■ Remanence (retentivity)​ is the value of ​B​ when ​H​ is zero.

■ Coercivity​ ​is the value of ​H​ when ​B​ is zero.

■ The ​hysteresis​ phenomenon can be used to distinguish between two states.

Antiferromagnetic Materials

■ Antiferromagnetic materials include chromium and manganese.

■ In antiferromagnetic materials, the magnetic moments of individual atoms are strong, but
adjacent atoms align in opposite directions.

■ The macroscopic magnetization of the material is negligible even in the presence of an applied
field.

Ferrimagnetic Materials

■ Ferrimagnetic materials include oxides of iron, nickel, or cobalt.

 ■ The magnetic moments of adjacent atoms are aligned opposite to each other, but there is
incomplete cancellation of the moments because they are not equal.

■ Thus, there is a net magnetic moment within a domain.

■ In the absence of applied magnetic field, the ​domains​ are randomly oriented so that the net
macroscopic magnetization is zero.

■ In the presence of an applied magnetic field, the domains align themselves with the applied field.

■ The magnetic effects are weaker than in ferromagnetic materials, but are still substantial.

Ferrites

■ Ferrites are the most useful ferrimagnetic materials.

■ Ferrites are ceramic material containing compounds of iron.

■ Ferrites are non-conducting magnetic media so eddy current and ohmic losses are less than for
ferromagnetic materials.

■ Ferrites are often used as transformer cores at radio frequencies (RF).

Comparison of Dia, Para and Ferro Magnetic materials:

Diamagnetic substances:

i) Diamagnetic substances are those which are feebly repelled by magnet. Antimony, Bismuth,
Copper, Gold, Silver, Quartz, Mercury, Alcohol, water, Hydrogen, Air, Argon, etc.

ii) When placed in magnetic field ,the lines of force tend to avoid the substance.

iii) When placed in non -uniform magnetic field, it moves from stronger to weaker field
(feeble repulsion).
iv) When a diamagnetic rod is freely suspended in a uniform magnetic field, it aligns itself in
a direction perpendicular to the field.
v) If diamagnetic liquid is taken in a watch glass is placed in uniform magnetic field, it
collects away from the centre when the magnetic poles are closer and collects at the centre
when magnetic poles are farther.
vi) When a diamagnetic is placed in a magnetic field, it is weakly magnetized in the direction
opposite to the inducing field.
vii) Induced Dipole Moment (M) is a small – ve value.
viii) Intensity of Magnetisation (I)has a small –ve value.
ix) Magnetic permeability μ is always less than unity.
x) Magnetic susceptibility ​χ​m

has a small – ve value.

xi) They do not obey Curie’s Law i, e their properties do not change with temperature.
temperature.

Paramagnetic substances:

i) Paramagnetic substances are those which are feebly attracted by magnet. Eg.
Aluminium, Chromium, Alkali and Alkaline earth metals, Platinum, Oxygen, etc.
ii) When placed in magnetic field ,the lines of force pass through the substance rather
than air
iii) When placed in non -uniform magnetic field, it moves from weaker to stronger field
(feeble attraction).
iv) When a paramagnetic rod is freely suspended in a uniform magnetic field, it aligns
itself in a direction parallel to the field.
v) If paramagnetic liquid is taken in a watch glass is placed in uniform magnetic field, it
collects at the centre when the magnetic poles are closer and collects away from the
centre when magnetic poles are farther.
vi) When a paramagnetic is placed in a magnetic field, it is weakly magnetized in the
direction of the inducing field.
vii) Induced Dipole Moment (M) is a small + ve value.
viii) Intensity of Magnetisation (I)has a small +ve value.
ix) Magnetic permeability μ is more than unity.
x) Magnetic susceptibility ​χ​m

has a small + ve value.

xi) They obey Curie’s Law.they lose their magnetic properties with rise in temperature.

Ferromagnetic substances:

i) Ferromagnetic substances are those which are strongly attracted by magnet. Eg.
Iron,cobalt,nickel,gadolinium,dysprosium etc.
ii) When placed in magnetic field ,the lines of force tend to crowd into the specimen.
iii) When placed in non -uniform magnetic field, it moves from weaker to stronger field
(strong attraction).
iv) When a ferromagnetic rod is freely suspended in a uniform magnetic field, it aligns itself
in a direction parallel to the field very quickly.
v) If ferromagnetic liquid is taken in a watch glass is placed in uniform magnetic field, it
collects at the centre when the magnetic poles are closer and collects away from the
centre when magnetic poles are farther.
vi) When a ferromagnetic is placed in a magnetic field, it is strongly magnetized in the
direction of the inducing field.
vii) Induced Dipole Moment (M) is a large + ve value.
viii) Intensity of Magnetisation (I) has a large +ve value.
ix) Magnetic permeability μ is large that is much more than unity.
x) Magnetic susceptibility ​χ​m

has a large + ve value.

xi) They obey Curie’s Law.At a certain temperature called Curie point,they lose
ferromagnetic properties and behave like paramagnetic substances.

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