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Types of Magnets Magnets are either natural or artificial. Since naturally occurring magnets or lodestones have no practical use, all magnets considered in this study are artificial or manmade. Artificial magnets can be further classified as permanent magnets, which retain their magnetism long after the magnetizing force has been removed, and temporary magnets, which quickly lose most of their magnetism when the external magnetizing force is removed. Modern permanent magnets are made of special alloys that have been found through research to create increasingly better magnets. The most common categories of magnet materials are made out of Aluminum-Nickel- Cobalt (Alnicos), Strontium-Iron (Ferrites, also known as Ceramics), Neodymium-Iron-Boron (Neo magnets), and Samarium-Cobalt. Alnico, an alloy of iron, aluminum, nickel and cobalt, and is considered one of the very best. Others with excellent magnetic qualities are alloys such as Remalloy™ and Permendur™. The ability of a magnet to hold its magnetism varies greatly with the type of metal and is known as retentivity. Magnets made of soft iron are very easily magnetized but quickly lose most of their magnetism when the external magnetizing force is removed. The small amount of magnetism remaining, called residual magnetism, is of great importance in such electrical applications as generator operation. Horseshoe magnets are commonly manufactured in two forms. [Figure 10-24] The most common type is made from a long bar curved into a horseshoe shape, while a variation of this type consists of two bars connected by a third bar, or yoke.
Magnets can be made in many different shapes, such as balls, cylinders, or disks. One special type of magnet is the ring magnet, or Gramme ring, often used in instruments. This is a closed loop magnet, similar to the type used in transformer cores, and is the only type that has no poles. Sometimes special applications require that the field of force lie through the thickness rather than the length of a piece of metal. Such magnets are called flat magnets and are used as pole pieces in generators and motors. |
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