Such materials are called ferromagnetic, after the Latin word ferrum for iron. Other materials exhibit weak magnetic effects, which are detectable only with sensitive instruments. Not only do ferromagnetic materials respond strongly to magnets—the way iron is attracted to magnets—but they can also be magnetized themselves—that is, they can be induced to be magnetic or made into permanent magnets. A permanent magnet is simply a material that retains its magnetic behavior for a long time, even when exposed to demagnetizing influences.
Ferromagnetic
Only certain materials, such as iron, cobalt, nickel, and gadolinium, exhibit strong magnetic effects.
Source & attribution
Physics — Magnetic Fields, Field Lines, and Force
Fatih Gozuacik, Denise Pattison, Catherine Tabor · OpenStax, Rice University
CC BY 4.0. Text excerpted; whitespace normalised and empty cross-references removed; learning prompts added. No illustrations reproduced.
Source edition: 2024-12-20T16:36:28Z
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