Electrical Engineering ⇒ Topic : Classification of magnetic material

CLASSIFICATION OF MAGNETIC MATERIALS

In accordance with the value of relative permeability the magnetic materials may be classified in the following three ways:

• Ferromagnetic materials. The relative permeabilities of these materials are much greater than unity and are dependent on the field strengths.Examples. Iron, cobalt and nickel.Gadolinium however also comes under this classification. These materials have high susceptibility.
• Paramagnetic materials. These have relative permeability slightly greater than unity and are magnetised slightly.Examples. Aluminium, platinum and oxygen.
• Diamagnetic materials. The relative permeability of these materials is slightly less than unity. They repel the lines of force slightly. Examples. Bismuth; silver copper and hydrogen