Effect of temperature

on the strength of a
magnet
Physics Project

BY Sanay Mathur
Roll no 1232-A

XII A

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the PHYSICS project has been
successfully completed by Sanay Mathur of Class XII A
in partial fulfillment of curriculum of CENTRAL BOARD
OF SECONDARY EDUCATION (CBSE) leading to the
award of annual examination of the year 2013-2014.

INTERNAL EXAMINER

H.O.D PHYSICS

ACKNOWLEDGEME
NT:
First and foremost I thank my teacher
physics
Mr. Suresh Kumar for his remarkable,
valuable guidance, supervision, help and
encouragement throughout the project
work.
I would also like to thank my parents who
helped me a lot in gathering information,
collecting data and guiding me from time to
time in making this project unique.
I would like to acknowledge the assistance
provided to me by the library staff of Army
Public School, Bangalore.

Sanay Mathur

INDEX:

Aim
Introduction
Theory
Apparatus
Procedure
Observations
Result
Precautions
Conclusion
Bibliography

AIM:

To determine how
temperature
affects the
strength of a
magnet.

INTRODUCTION
:
agnetic fields are produced by electric currents.
Magnets are frequently used in daily life. For example,
magnets are used in manufacturing, entertainment,
security, and they play a crucial role in the functioning
of computers. Even the earth itself is a magnet.
M

A magnet is any object that produces a magnetic field .

Some magnets, referred to as permanent, hold their
magnetism without an external electric current. A
magnet of this nature can be created by exposing a
piece of metal containing iron to a number of situations
(i.e. repeatedly jarring the metal, heating to high
temperature). Soft magnets, on the other hand, are
those that lose their magnetic charge properties over
time. Additionally, paramagnetic objects are those that
can become magnetic only when in the presence of an
external magnetic field.
A magnetic field is the space surrounding a magnet in
which magnetic force is exerted. The motion of
negatively charged electrons in the magnet determines
not only the polarity, but also the strength of the
magnet (Cold magnet).
Magnets are filled with magnetic lines of force . These
lines originate at the north pole of the magnet and
continue to the south pole. The north pole is positive.
Magnetic lines of force do not intersect one another.

Certain materials, called ferromagnetic materials, have

unpaired electrons in their outermost atomic orbits that
can become magnetically aligned over large distances
(relative to the atomic scale). These regions of
alignment are called magnetic domains.

An electric current flowing through a

straight wire creates a magnetic field
around the wire.
The illustration shows the magnetic
field produced by electric current in
a straight wire. When the thumb of
the right hand is pointing in the
direction of the current, the fingers of
the right hand curl in the direction of
the magnetic field.

In the 1800s, Pierre Curie discovered that there exists a

temperature at which objects that were previously
permanently magnetic lose this characteristic . The
temperature at which this demagnetization occurs is
called the Curie Point. As the temperature of the
magnet approaches this point, the alignment of each
domain decreases. As such, the magnetism decreases
until the Curie point is reached, at which time the
material becomes paramagnetic.

THEORY:
A magnet is a material or object that produces a
magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is
responsible for the most notable property of a magnet:
a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials,
such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.
A permanent magnet is an object made from a material
that is magnetized and creates its own persistent
magnetic field. An everyday example is a refrigerator
magnet used to hold notes on a refrigerator door.
Materials that can be magnetized, which are also the
ones that are strongly attracted to a magnet, are called
ferromagnetic (or ferrimagnetic). These include iron,
nickel, cobalt, some alloys of rare earth metals, and
some naturally occurring minerals such as lodestone.
Although ferromagnetic (and ferrimagnetic) materials
are the only ones attracted to a magnet strongly
enough to be commonly considered magnetic, all other
substances respond weakly to a magnetic field, by one
of several other types of magnetism.
Permanent magnets are made from ferromagnetic
materials. If a ferromagnetic material is exposed to a
strong magnetic field, the magnetic domains within the
material will retain at least some of the alignment
induced by the external magnetic field.

When the temperature of a material is increased, what

is happening on the atomic scale is an increase in the
random motion of the atoms of which the material is
made. Each ferromagnetic material has a Curie
temperature (named after Pierre Curie), above which it
can no longer be magnetized. For soft iron, the Curie
temperature is over 1,300C!
A current flowing through a coil of wire (the coil is also
called a solenoid) creates a stronger magnetic field
than the same current flowing through a straight wire.
The magnetic field is strongest at the center of the coil.
Each loop in the coil contributes additional strength to
the magnetic field. The more the loops, the stronger
the field.

The illustration shows the magnetic field produced by an

electric current in a coil (solenoid). When the fingers of the right

hand curl in the direction of the current flow, the thumb points in
the direction of the magnetic field (i.e. thumb points toward
magnetic North pole of the solenoid).

APPARATUS:

5 permanent magnets
of equal size and strength.

A pair of tongs.

A thermometer.

Plastic bowl filled with 200 standard

size paper clips.

PROCEDURE
:
1)
The independent variable is the
temperature of the magnet - 0C, 25C,
50C, 75C and 100C. The dependent
variable is the number of paper clips
picked up by the magnet. This is
determined by counting the number of
paper clips that stick to the magnet. The
constants (control variables) are the size
of the magnet and the weight of the
paper clips.
2)
5 magnets are kept in the freezer of
the refrigerator overnight, in order for
them to stabilize at 0C for use in the
experiment.

3)
The next day, 200 paper clips are
spread in a bowl. The 5 magnets are
removed from the refrigerator and their
temperatures are measured using a
thermometer. Wearing gloves, place one
of the magnets over the paper clips in
the bowl to pick up as many paper clips
as possible. The results are recorded in
the table given below.
4)
The 5 magnets are placed on a hot
plate until a temperature of 25C is
reached. Repeat the 3rd step using the
same 5 magnets and the number of
paper clips picked up is record in the
observation table.
5)
Repeat steps 3 and 4 by bringing the
temperature of the magnets to 50C,
75C and 100C, by placing them on the
hot plate. The results are recorded in the
observation table.

OBSERVATIONS:

MAGN No. of paper clips

ET
picked up by the
magnets at different
temp.
0 25 50 75 100
C C
C
C
C
MAGN 29 25 21 13
8
ET 1
MAGN 34 29 26 16 11
ET 2
MAGN 37 32 28 18 12
ET 3
MAGN 31 27 23 15
9
ET 4
MAGN 28 23 19 12
7
ET 5

40

35

30

25

MAGNET 1
MAGNET 2

20

MAGNET 3
MAGNET 4
MAGNET 5

15

10

0
0C

25C

50C

75C

100C

RESULT:
Increasing the
temperature
reduces the
strength of the
magnet.

PRECAUTIONS
:
Measure the temperature of the
magnets accurately.
No. of paper clips should be
counted properly.
Magnets should be of equal size.
Paper clips should be of equal
size.
Wear gloves so that the body
temperature does not affect the
temperature of the magnets.
Record your observations
correctly.

CONCLUSION:
Magnetic materials should maintain a balance between
temperature and magnetic domains (the atoms inclination to
spin in a certain direction). When exposed to extreme
temperatures, however, this balance is destabilized; magnetic
properties are then affected. While cold strengthens magnets,
heat can result in the loss of magnetic properties. In other words,
too much heat can completely ruin a magnet. Excessive heat
causes atoms to move more rapidly, disturbing the magnetic
domains. As the atoms are sped up, the percentage of magnetic
domains spinning in the same direction decreases. This lack of
cohesion weakens the magnetic force and eventually
demagnetizes it entirely.
In contrast, when a magnet is exposed to extreme cold, the
atoms slow down so the magnetic domains are aligned and, in
turn, strengthened.
Ferromagnetism
The way in which specific materials form permanent
magnets or interact strongly with magnets. Most everyday
magnets are a product of ferromagnetism.
Paramagnetism
A type of magnetism that occurs only in the presence of an
external magnetic field. They are attracted to magnetic fields, but
they are not magnetized when the external field is removed.
That's because the atoms spin in random directions; the spins
arent aligned, and the total magnetization is zero.

Aluminum and oxygen are two examples of materials that are

paramagnetic at room temperature.
Curie Temperature
Named for the French physicist Pierre Curie,
the Curie Temperature is

the temperature at

which no magnetic domain can exist because the

atoms are too frantic to maintain aligned spins.
At this temperature, the ferromagnetic material
becomes paramagnetic. Even if you cool the magnet, once it has
become demagnetized, it will not become magnetized again.
Different magnetic materials have different Curie Temperatures,
but the average is about 600 to 800 degrees Celsius.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 www.icbse.com
www.sciencebuddies
.com
www.wikipedia.com
NCERT Physics
textbook
www.howmagnetswo
rk.com