Magnetic Materials

Depending upon the arrangement of magnetic moments in them, the magnetic

materials may be of diamagnetic, paramagnetic, ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic and
ferrimagnetic (or ferrites) types.
Piezoelectrics
• An electric field induces a mechanical strain in piezoelectric crystals and vice-versa.
• Quartz, CdS (calcium sulphide), ZnO (zinc oxide), lead zirconate titanate are some
examples.
• These are used as transducers in various devices and instruments for changing
electrical signal into mechanical signal and vice-versa.
• A quartz crystal is used to produce ultrasonic waves.
Ferroelectric Materials
• These materials have a spontaneous electric polarization that can be reversed by the
application of an external electric field.
• All ferroelectrics are pyroelectric, with the additional property that their natural electrical
polarization is reversible.
• used in miniature capacitors, as electro-optic materials, and in sonar devices.
• A large number of materials which are ferroelectric are also piezoelectric. However, the
converse is not true.
Perovskites
• These are the mixed oxides which are obtained on fusing the oxides of titanium (Ti),
zirconium (Zr), and hafnium (Hf) with oxides of other metals.
• The fusion of the two metals results in formation of titanates, zirconates, and
hafnates. Perovskites are used to make high temperature ceramic superconductors.
• All materials with the same crystal structure as CaTiO3, namely ABX3, are termed
perovskites:
Superconductors
These are those materials which exhibit abrupt and sudden changes in their resistance
and other behavior, at extremely low temperatures.

Superconductors show extraordinary properties like

• resistance R of the material ≈ 0,
• magnetic flux density B ≈ 0,
• power (copper) loss 𝐼 2𝑅≈ 0.
Types
• Nb3 Sn, La80Au20, Nb-Zr-Ti are some examples of superconducting compounds and
alloys. Yattrium barium copper oxide (YBa2 Cu3 O7-x bismuth strontium calcium
copper oxide (Bi Sr Ca CuO) and thallium barium calcium copper oxide (Th Ba Ca CuO)
are some modern ceramic (i.e. oxide) superconductors.
• Superconductors are used in leviated trains (wheel-less train moving on magnetic
field), as powerful magnets for nuclear fusion reactors, in medical imaging machines,
in cryogenic engines, for high speed electronic signal processing, and
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation etc.