Temporary and Permanent Magnets

Different magnetic materials have different properties. Some make better permanent magnets than other and the same can be said for temporary magnets (magnetism only last a short time). In this section, we will explore two such materials; Iron and Steel.

Iron

Steel

When the above experiment was conducted with iron, the following was observed:
1. Iron makes stronger induced magnets.
2.
Soft magnetic materials like Iron do not retain their magnetism but are easily magnetised.

Hence iron makes good temporary magnets.

Applications of temporary magnets include electric bell, electromagnets and magnetic relays.

When the above experiment was performed with steel, the following was observed:
1. Steel makes weak induced magnets.
2.
Hard magnetic materials like steel retain their magnetism longer but are harder to magnetised.

Hence steel makes good permanent magnets.

Applications of permanent magnets include, moving-coil ammeter, magnetic door catch and moving-coil loudspeakers.

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