paramagnetism

paramagnetism
See paramagnetically.

* * *

Kind of magnetism that occurs in materials weakly attracted by a strong magnet.

Compounds containing iron, palladium, platinum, and the rare-earth elements exhibit strong paramagnetism because they have atoms with some incomplete inner electron shells. Their unpaired electrons make the atoms behave like tiny permanent magnets that align with and strengthen an applied magnetic field. As the temperature rises, strong paramagnetism decreases because of the greater random motion of the atoms. Weak paramagnetism, found in many solid metallic elements, is independent of temperature.

* * *

      kind of magnetism characteristic of materials weakly attracted by a strong magnet, named and extensively investigated by the British scientist Michael Faraday beginning in 1845. Most elements and some compounds are paramagnetic. Strong paramagnetism (not to be confused with the ferromagnetism of the elements iron, cobalt, nickel, and other alloys) is exhibited by compounds containing iron, palladium, platinum, and the rare-earth elements. In such compounds atoms of these elements have some inner electron shells that are incomplete, causing their unpaired electrons to spin like tops and orbit like satellites, thus making the atoms a permanent magnet tending to align with and hence strengthen an applied magnetic field.

      Strong paramagnetism decreases with rising temperature because of the de-alignment produced by the greater random motion of the atomic magnets. Weak paramagnetism, independent of temperature, is found in many metallic elements in the solid state, such as sodium and the other alkali metals, because an applied magnetic field affects the spin of some of the loosely bound conduction electrons. The value of susceptibility (a measure of the relative amount of induced magnetism) for paramagnetic materials is always positive and at room temperature is typically about 1/100,000 to 1/10,000 for weakly paramagnetic substances and about 1/10,000 to 1/100 for strongly paramagnetic substances.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • paramagnetism — PARAMAGNETÍSM s.n. Proprietate a unor corpuri de a se magnetiza (slab şi temporar) prin introducerea lor într un câmp magnetic. – Din fr. paramagnétisme. Trimis de valeriu, 03.02.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  paramagnetísm s. n. Trimis de siveco,… …   Dicționar Român

  • Paramagnetism — is a form of magnetism which occurs only in the presence of an externally applied magnetic field. Paramagnetic materials are attracted to magnetic fields, hence have a relative magnetic permeability greater than one (or, equivalently, a positive… …   Wikipedia

  • Paramagnetism — Par a*mag net*ism, n. (Physics) A property of materials which are not magnetized in the absence of an external magnetic field, but in which the magnetic moments of their constituents align with and enhance an applied magnetic field; the induced… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Paramagnetism — Paramagnetism. См. Парамагнетизм. (Источник: «Металлы и сплавы. Справочник.» Под редакцией Ю.П. Солнцева; НПО Профессионал , НПО Мир и семья ; Санкт Петербург, 2003 г.) …   Словарь металлургических терминов

  • paramagnetism — paramagnetizmas statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. paramagnetism vok. Paramagnetismus, m rus. парамагнетизм, m pranc. paramagnétisme, m …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • paramagnetism — noun see paramagnetic …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • paramagnetism — noun /ˌpæ.rə.ˈmæɡ.nə.tɪ.zəm/ the tendency of magnetic dipoles to align with an external magnetic field; materials that exhibit this tendency become temporary magnets See Also: paramagnetic …   Wiktionary

  • paramagnetism — The property of having a strong magnetic moment from one or more unpaired electrons, causing orientation in a magnetic field; most significant in imaging are ions of certain transition metals such as gadolinium, iron, and manganese, or …   Medical dictionary

  • paramagnetism — Смотри Парамагнетизм …   Энциклопедический словарь по металлургии

  • paramagnetísm — s. n …   Romanian orthography

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”