Tuesday, December 21, 2010

All You Need To Know About Permanent Magnets

There are many different types of magnets available in the market. Unfortunately, most buyers are not aware that there are 3 types of magnets. The three types of magnets are electromagnets, temporary magnets and permanent magnets. Most people are only aware of permanent magnets. This type of magnets are well known because they can be found attached to almost every refrigerator in homes.


They are called permanent because after the material is magnetized, it retains that level of magnetism. It also creates and maintains a constant magnetic field around itself. Simply put, a permanent magnet is an object obtained from a magnetized material.


This type of magnet can be made in different shapes, color, size and designs possible. The quality of a permanent is measured in terms of how light it is and the strength of magnetic fields it produces around itself. Anyone buying a permanent magnet should ensure that the magnet they buy is stable against any force that may weaken its magnetism.





There are many types or permanent magnets in the market. They all come with different properties and characteristics.    What sets one magnet from the other is the ease with which  it can be demagnetized, how it behaves in different temperatures and the strength of the magnet. The types of magnets available are Alnico, Neodymium, Ceramic and samarium-cobalt. Neodymium and Samarium-cobalt are considered rare earth magnets. These  magnets are known, by experts,to be the best magnets and a small mass can produce  the strongest magnetic force. They are also very difficult to demagnetize.


Permanent magnets made up of Aluminum, cobalt and nickel are known as Alnico magnets. Though not affected by changes in temperature, Alnico magnets can be demagnetized with ease. Ceramic magnets are the most preferred magnet by manufacturers due to its flexibility and small width. manufacturers prefer this type of magnet because it can be bent and molded to various shapes which can be used in advertising campaigns. They are also very strong and cannot be demagnetized with ease. The main disadvantage with this type of magnet is that they are affected by changes in temperature. The strength of the magnet depends on the temperature of its surroundings.


Most aspects of modern life depend on magnets. For example, there would be no electricity without magnets. Magnets are used in generators o convert magnetic energy onto electricity. Magnetic energy is also used to convert electricity into useful magnetic energy for example in speakers, meter, and ion pumps. Magnets have been entrenched in almost every aspect of life making Permanent magnets an essential material in any industrial processes. When buying a permanent magnet for any purpose, make sure you ask for its properties in order to get the most suitable magnet for whatever use you require it for.