Magnetism Essay

Magnet is any piece of material, with attractive iron (or steel) property. Magnetite, also called magnet, is a naturally occurring rock magnet. This natural magnet was first discovered in a region known as magnesia and was named after the area in which it was discovered. Magnetism may be naturally present in a material or the material may be artificially magnetized by various methods. Magnets may be permanent or temporary. After being magnetized, a permanent magnet will retain the properties of magnetism indefinitely. A temporary magnet is a magnet made of soft iron, that is usually easy to magnetize; however, temporary magnets lose most of their magnetic properties when the magnetizing cause is discontinued. Permanent magnets are usually more difficult to magnetize, but they remain magnetized. Materials which can be magnetized are called ferromagnetic materials. We will talk more about making a magnet later on.

A magnet can be cut into smaller and smaller pieces indefinitely, and each piece will still act as a small magnet. Thus, the cause of magnetism must be from a property of the smallest particles of the material, the atoms. So what is it about the atoms of magnets, or objects that can be magnetized (ferromagnetic materials), that is different from the atoms of other material? For example, why is it that copper keys or aluminum soda cans cannot be magnetized?

Atom

The study of atoms, electrons, neutrons, and protons is so complex that throughout history scientists have developed several models of the atom. From the early Greek concept of the atom, about 2400 years ago, to today's modern atomic model, scientists have built on and modified existing models, as new information was discovered. There are still concepts on which...

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... insight was pretty amazing considering the electron would not be discovered for another 75 years.

Magnetic fields

A magnetic field describes a volume of space where there is a change in energy.. As Ampere suggested, a magnetic field is produced whenever an electrical charge is in motion. The spinning and orbiting of the nucleus of an atom produces a magnetic field as does electrical current flowing through a wire. The direction of the spin and orbit determine the direction of the magnetic field. The strength of this field is called the magnetic moment.

The motion of an electric charge producing a magnetic field is an essential concept in understanding magnetism. The magnetic moment of an atom can be the result of the electron's spin, which is the electron orbital motion and a change in the orbital motion of the electrons caused by an applied magnetic field.