Permanent Magnet vs. Electromagnet: What's the Difference?

In summary: Just to be clear, permanent magnets do not have current flowing through them. Take a screwdriver or other piece of iron/steel and repeatedly stroke along the length of it with a permanent magnet. The more often done, the more the piece of metal will become... magnetized.
  • #71
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  • #72
  • #73
Can you explain please.
 
  • #74
sophiecentaur said:
OK. 'Soft Iron' has very low remanence and makes a very poor permanent magnet. It is also very easily magnetised whist the applied field is there. Perfect when you want to control the magnetic field (solenoid in a starter motor etc. or a relay). Steel is harder to magnetise and will remain magnetised. The right grade of steel of other ferromagnetic alloy is even harder to magnetise and will stay magnetised for longer (impervious to being bashed, for instance).
I don't think Wiki and I disagree, do we? The general term 'iron' doesn't always refer to soft iron but to cast iron, for instanceor 'iron age tools' - which have a higher remanence. You would have found that out if you had read around more, I am certain.
"Iron" refers to the elemental metal, as opposed to an alloy or oxide. Authentic, pure iron will not become permanently magnetised under any circumstances. "Steel" refers to a large variety of alloys of iron, the most common being iron/carbon.

The steels will not become permanently magnetized unless they have been hardened. That's an important point. It is quite possible to rub a piece of soft steel with a magnet or place it in a magnetic field without it becoming permanently magnetized. Tools like screwdrivers and wrenches pick up permanent magnetism very easily because they have been hardened to make them more durable. Motor stators and rotors, on the other hand, are all made of soft steels which do not become permanently magnetized.

Whether or not the steel has been hardened is the make or break condition for turning it into a permanent magnet.
 
  • #75
Xidike said:
They Does not repel.. rather the needle of compass reverses the direction..

That is hardly surprising if you realize that there are TWO forces acting on the magnetic compass - one on each of its poles.
The 'N Pole' will be attracted to the North and repelled from the South. And the S pole will be attracted to the North and repelled from the South. IFFFFF the magnet suspension will allow it, the magnet will rotate so that it points North-South (the lowest energy situation it can find). Are you telling me this is a total surprise for your?
When we have sorted this out are you intending to give us an equally hard time with Newton's Laws of motion and the Laws of Reflection and Refraction?
Are you just not prepared to THINK at all, for yourself?
 
  • #76
Drakkith said:
Well, technically it doesn't matter. However an AC current will alternate the polarity at the frequency of the circuit. So all electromagnets used actually as a magnet to pick up stuff will be DC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnet

I think that AC shouldn't be nice to create a permanent magnet. Am I wrong ?

By other hand no one is telling WHY north and south poles attract. The real WHY i mean, no just a simple human-made law. The law can explain HOW but not why.
Always have thought fields and magnetic lines to be a nice way to explain kids about magnets but I was shocked to see that Meissner phenomena is explain in some places as if magnetic force lines are able to interact each other.
I must say lines don't exist but as a human concept. (All kind of lines... just check em closer)

About permanent magnets i would like to point two things: (For sure tell me if i am wrong)
- Fe(atomic iron) is the most important thing a permanent magnet must have(yes cobalt can be used but quite near in periodic table)
- Any matter with just a kind of atom can not be a permanent magnet (just if my etomic model is right)
 
  • #77
zoobyshoe said:
The steels will not become permanently magnetized unless they have been hardened. That's an important point. It is quite possible to rub a piece of soft steel with a magnet or place it in a magnetic field without it becoming permanently magnetized. Tools like screwdrivers and wrenches pick up permanent magnetism very easily because they have been hardened to make them more durable. Motor stators and rotors, on the other hand, are all made of soft steels which do not become permanently magnetized.

Whether or not the steel has been hardened is the make or break condition for turning it into a permanent magnet.

I know that steel nails seem to have some remenance (they stay magnetised - for a while, at least) and that many 'steels' cannot be hardened to a useful degree. Are we just talking in terms of a continuum of 'hardness', partly due to the mix and also to the heat treatment? It isn't every steel that can be 'tool-hardened', I'm sure - take 'angle iron', for instance.
I always assumed that transformer laminations were soft iron. Is that true?
 
  • #78
sophiecentaur said:
I know that steel nails seem to have some remenance (they stay magnetised - for a while, at least) and that many 'steels' cannot be hardened to a useful degree.
This is the case, yes. Nails have been "work hardened" to some degree when the steel wire is taken off the spool, straightened, cut, and the head is formed. You could get a better magnet by completely work hardening a nail by banging down the whole length of it with a hammer on an anvil. This recipe of steel, though, is not intended to be hardened or magnetized, so it will be a poor quality compared to any recipe intended for hardening.
Are we just talking in terms of a continuum of 'hardness', partly due to the mix and also to the heat treatment?
Yes. A totally "soft" steel probably doesn't exist.
It isn't every steel that can be 'tool-hardened', I'm sure - take 'angle iron', for instance.
Right. "Tool steel" has been made according to some specific recipe for the job in question and the heating and quenching to harden it usually has to be tightly controlled for that specific alloy.

"Angle iron" is hot rolled steel. It is formed into that shape by being forced through rollers when it is still glowing hot. It's a soft steel. It can be made harder than it is by heating and quenching or work hardening, but will never be as hard as tool steel.
I always assumed that transformer laminations were soft iron. Is that true?
They developed a special steel alloy for transformers, etc. (It is heat treated to make the crystals larger, but not to harden it.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_steel
 
  • #79
Thanks for that info. A comprehensive set of answers. The term 'soft iron' seems to be a bit like 'cast iron' in that neither is pure iron - they're just called 'iron'.
 
  • #80
sophiecentaur said:
Thanks for that info. A comprehensive set of answers. The term 'soft iron' seems to be a bit like 'cast iron' in that neither is pure iron - they're just called 'iron'.
Yes. A lot of literature refers to a "soft iron core" being the proper one for electromagnets. I think what they're mainly trying to get across is that the core has to be 'iron based' and should not be hardened. I'm not sure that anyone ever actually produces pure iron for any practical applications because...

Pure iron is soft (softer than aluminium), but is unobtainable by smelting. The material is significantly hardened and strengthened by impurities from the smelting process, such as carbon. A certain proportion of carbon (between 0.2% and 2.1%) produces steel, which may be up to 1000 times harder than pure iron.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron
 
  • #81
What is the direction of Earth magnetic force ?? Vertically Or Horizontally ??
 
  • #82
Did you ever look at diagrams of the Earth's magnetic field? Have you connected this with other pictures and descriptions of magnets?
 
  • #83
sophiecentaur said:
Did you ever look at diagrams of the Earth's magnetic field? Have you connected this with other pictures and descriptions of magnets?

I've searched the Directions of Earth Magnetic field and found that Earth behaves like a gigantic bar magnet
 
  • #84
So what does that tell you?
 
  • #85
I found that The Earth's real north pole is actually the south pole of it's magnetic field and real south pole is the north pole of it's magnetic field..
 
  • #86
lasily said:
A permanent magnet is the one whose electronic domains are aligned in a particular direction as opposed to the iron in which they are scattered and multi-directional. To make a permanent magnet, you can induce magnetism by keepin in close proximity to a magnetic bar or in a magnetic field.

An electromagnet is the one in which magnetic power is induced through electricity. They find applications in generators. Normal magnets do not need any electricity for their magnetism.

What is meant by Electronic Domains ?
 
  • #87
Xidike said:
What is meant by Electronic Domains ?
Have you read anything at[/PLAIN] [Broken] this level yet?

or this?

Why do you keep picking one phrase from an answer that you get and, again ask "what is ...?"? Why not google the term and read a few of the links it throws up? Seriously, it gives the impression that you are making no effort for yourself at all.

If you want to have a worthwhile conversation on PF, the best way is to go and find two or three pieces of information elsewhere that seem to contradict or where you can't see the connection and then ask for opinions here. It makes answering worth while for other members.
 
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  • #88
Sound like a chat bot.
 
  • #89
What is a chat bot?
haha
 
  • #90
Xidike said:
What is the direction of Earth magnetic force ?? Vertically Or Horizontally ??

You mean direction of the field lines, not force. There is no force when you are talking about a single object, force is between two objects, and the direction of the force is along the shortest distance between the two, more or less depending on the shape and distribution of the fields.
 
  • #91
If Earth's North pole And Magnet North pole can repel each other, then why does not the magnet become suspended in the air due to it's own and Earth repulsion force... ?
 
  • #92
Xidike said:
If Earth's North pole And Magnet North pole can repel each other, then why does not the magnet become suspended in the air due to it's own and Earth repulsion force... ?

Try suspending the planet above a magnet! You just need suitable strong magnet..

http://www.gadgetvenue.com/levitating-spinning-globe-07201554/

Youtube video

 
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  • #93
I'm not asking about globe.. I'm just asking about a magnet..
 
  • #94
Why don't try thinking (in conjunction with reading around) instead of asking?
 
  • #95
Troll alert! Dude is 20 Years old according to his profile.
 
  • #96
Not fourteen?
 
  • #97
Probably time to close this thread?
 
  • #98
Yes please Mods.
 
  • #99
I third that motion

its just becoming very tiring trying to help someone who apparently doesn't seem to want to help him/herself

Mods, please do the honor

Dave
 
  • #100
How can you say that I myself can't want to learn ? Mein learn he to kar raha hon..
 
  • #101
Why Does the needle of Compass always points towards the North pole ?
 
  • #102
Xidike said:
Why Does the needle of Compass always points towards the North pole ?

because the other end always points to the south pole ... ;)

Dave
 
  • #103
Xidike said:
Why Does the needle of Compass always points towards the North pole ?

Which way should it point? Is there something wrong?
 
  • #104
Same sign repulsion and different sign attraction doesn't explain WHY.
That can be the main problem here. No one is giving a nice answer.
A nice Mechanistic would ask for a mechanic model that can explain magnet properties. Instead of that Magnetic phenomena are explain as a quasi magic force.
 
  • #105
When a magnet is broken into pieces, each piece is found to be a magnet with two poles.

image003.jpg


N===============S
N======S N======S


Why Does this Happens If We Broke Only South Pole then Why Does it is Automatically Converted To Both South And North Pole ?
 
<h2>1. What is the main difference between a permanent magnet and an electromagnet?</h2><p>A permanent magnet is a material that has a constant magnetic field, while an electromagnet is a coil of wire that produces a magnetic field when an electric current is passed through it.</p><h2>2. Which one is stronger, a permanent magnet or an electromagnet?</h2><p>It depends on the strength of the electric current passing through the electromagnet. In general, an electromagnet can be stronger than a permanent magnet because the strength of its magnetic field can be adjusted by changing the amount of current flowing through it.</p><h2>3. Can a permanent magnet be turned on and off like an electromagnet?</h2><p>No, a permanent magnet cannot be turned on and off. Its magnetic field is always present, unlike an electromagnet which only produces a magnetic field when there is an electric current flowing through it.</p><h2>4. What are some common uses for permanent magnets and electromagnets?</h2><p>Permanent magnets are commonly used in everyday objects such as refrigerator magnets, speakers, and hard drives. Electromagnets are used in a variety of applications such as electric motors, generators, and MRI machines.</p><h2>5. Which one is more cost-effective, a permanent magnet or an electromagnet?</h2><p>In general, permanent magnets are more cost-effective because they do not require a continuous supply of electricity to maintain their magnetic field. However, the initial cost of producing an electromagnet may be lower, depending on the strength and size needed for the specific application.</p>

1. What is the main difference between a permanent magnet and an electromagnet?

A permanent magnet is a material that has a constant magnetic field, while an electromagnet is a coil of wire that produces a magnetic field when an electric current is passed through it.

2. Which one is stronger, a permanent magnet or an electromagnet?

It depends on the strength of the electric current passing through the electromagnet. In general, an electromagnet can be stronger than a permanent magnet because the strength of its magnetic field can be adjusted by changing the amount of current flowing through it.

3. Can a permanent magnet be turned on and off like an electromagnet?

No, a permanent magnet cannot be turned on and off. Its magnetic field is always present, unlike an electromagnet which only produces a magnetic field when there is an electric current flowing through it.

4. What are some common uses for permanent magnets and electromagnets?

Permanent magnets are commonly used in everyday objects such as refrigerator magnets, speakers, and hard drives. Electromagnets are used in a variety of applications such as electric motors, generators, and MRI machines.

5. Which one is more cost-effective, a permanent magnet or an electromagnet?

In general, permanent magnets are more cost-effective because they do not require a continuous supply of electricity to maintain their magnetic field. However, the initial cost of producing an electromagnet may be lower, depending on the strength and size needed for the specific application.

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