A magnetic
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductilit ...
is a combination of various
metals
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typical ...
from the
periodic table such as
ferrite that contains at least one of the three main
magnetic elements:
iron (Fe),
nickel (Ni), or
cobalt (Co) etc.. Such an alloy must contain but is not limited to one or more of these metals. Magnetic alloys have become common, especially in the form of
steel (iron and carbon),
alnico
Alnico is a family of iron alloys which in addition to iron are composed primarily of aluminium (Al), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co), hence the acronym ''al-ni-co''. They also include copper, and sometimes titanium. Alnico alloys are ferromagnetic, ...
(iron, nickel, cobalt, and
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...
), and
permalloy (iron and nickel). So-called "neodymium magnets" are actually alloys of neodymium, iron and boron forming the crystal structure Nd
2Fe
14B . The strongest magnetic element is iron, which allows items made out of these alloys to attract to magnets.
See also
*
Ferroalloy
References
External links
Magnetic Alloys Cobalt Institute. 2017.
Magnetic alloys
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