Article
Article
Ferromagnetism
Article By:
Abrahams, Elihu Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, California.
Keffer, Frederic Department of Physics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Herbst, Jan F. Physics Department, General Motors Research Laboratories, Warren, Michigan.
Last reviewed:December 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.254600
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A property exhibited by certain chemical elements in which, below a certain temperature called the Curie temperature, the atomic magnetic moments tend to line up in a common direction. Ferromagnetism is characterized by the strong attraction of one magnetized body for another (Fig. 1), a phenomenon known before 600 B.C.E. Only certain metals, alloys, and compounds of the transition (iron group), rare-earth, and actinide elements exhibit ferromagnetism. Common metals with the property are iron, cobalt, and nickel, which is further displayed by most of their alloys. See also: Cobalt; Iron; Magnet; Nickel
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