A magnet is an object or material that produces a magnetic field, a force that can attract certain objects or materials and repel others. Magnets are used in many important everyday engineering that we may not even notice; they are in computers, headphones, credit cards and even life-saving medical equipment. But perhaps the more visible and obvious uses of magnets are those that involve very simple attraction of magnet to metal (or metal to magnet). Attach shopping lists to refrigerator doors, close bag locks, attach memos to themmagnetic boards; Everyone knows the loud click that occurs when magnet and metal meet. Metal is the only material that can attract magnets, but does that mean all metals are magnetic? Absolutely not. So which metals are magnetic and which are not? Read on to find out…
The most important magnetic metals
There are three primary naturally occurring and known magnetic metals, also called ferromagnetic materials. They are:
Iron
Cobalt
Nickel
The rare earth metals dysprosium and gadolinium are also magnetic materials.
Can alloys of iron, cobalt and nickel be magnetic?
An alloy is a metal made from a combination of elements, so it stands to reason that if an alloy contains any of the magnetic metals nickel, iron or cobalt, it will have magnetic properties. In most cases, alloys of these metals will have magnetic properties, although this can be affected by the ratio of magnetic to non-magnetic ingredients. Simply put, the lower the amount of magnetic elements in an alloy, the weaker the magnetic attraction. In general, materials made with lower levels of these key elements can only be magnetized temporarily and generally have a much weaker magnetic field.
Which metal is the most magnetic?
The most magnetic of all magnetic metals is iron.
Is all steel magnetic?
Staalis an alloy of iron and carbon where the carbon is added to improve overall strength. Typically, however, carbon only makes up less than 10% of the total final product, meaning that the vast majority of steel is made of strong magnetic iron. As you might expect, most steel is magnetic, but you might be surprised to learn that not all of it is. In fact, a type of steel that you are likely to come into contact with in everyday life is not always magnetic, and it isstainless steel.
Why isn't all stainless steel magnetic?
Stainless steel is made with at least 10.5% chromium to make it resistant to corrosion and surface stains. Where stainless steel contains a relatively low chromium content, it is known as martensitic and is still magnetic. This is because the microstructure remains ferritic. In a ferritic structure, all atoms face the same direction and work together. When the structure is disrupted, the atoms become jumbled and less aligned. In many commonly used stainless steels, a greater amount of chromium is added to the mixture, and nickel is often added as well, both to make the metal easier to machine and to weld. Although nickel itself is magnetic, this combination of elements changes the microstructure of the finished alloy and becomes what is known as austenitic. Interestingly, when non-magnetic stainless steel is pressed or stretched at low temperatures (i.e. cold-formed), it can become magnetic because the process can align these atoms, clearing them away and making the structure ferritic. Therefore, some kitchen sinks may have a very weak magnetic force around the parts where they are molded, but no magnetic force at all on the flat surfaces. That316 and 304 stainless steelthat we sell is austenitic and therefore does not attract magnets.
Which types of steel are magnetic?
Except for austenitic stainless steel, most steel attracts magnets.Galvanized steel,Corten steel,soft steel,cold reduced steelInHot rolled steelare all magnetic.
Which metals are not magnetic?
Given that only four naturally occurring metals are magnetic, there are many more that are not. Metals that magnets don't stick tobuyer, (and alloys of copper such as bronze andto mess),aluminium, lead, tin, zinc and titanium. And while precious metals like gold and silver can be very attractive to people, they never attract magnets.
