Question #9b5cb
1 Answer
Magnetic materials may or may not be a magnet due to the internal alignment of the atoms in the material.
Explanation:
You are correct in stating that Magnetism is a property of some metals. The cause of this property is the behaviour of the metal atoms themselves. Some elements, which happen to also be metals, have atoms that exhibit a natural magnetic field. Iron, nickel and cobalt are all examples of ferromagnetic elements.
However, just having one of these metals does not mean one has a magnet. The difference is that in order to be a magnet, the atoms have to be in alignment with each other.
Think of the atoms as being tiny magnets/ Normally, the atoms in a metal are pointing in random directions, and on average their magnetic fields cancel each other out. Overall, there is no magnetic field.
When we magnetize one of these metals, we are effectively aligning all of the individual atoms in a particular direction.
Because they are all pointing in the same direction, there is a magnetic field overall making this a magnet.
