A very peculiar magnetic effect (chemist yells help )

[Arkasha]

A very peculiar magnetic effect (chemist yells "help!")

Hello all,

Today I was approached by a chemist who teaches A/P and honors physics at the high school. He showed me an experiment the class had been doing on transition metals.

This was the setup:

He placed a neodymium magnet on a very sensitive mass balance and weighed it. Around it he put a roll of thick paper (which wasn't touching the balance plate, so it would not affect the weight reading). Then on top of the roll he put a small frame made of wood, and finally a glass vial on the frame containing samples of various ions which all had Chloride as as the "other half." The metals were Mn (2+), Fe (2+), Co (2+), and Zn (2+).

He expected to find the magnet slightly attracted to the transition metals, because they were positive ions and lack 2 electrons. And he found that for *most* of the metals the magnet was indeed attracted, and the mass read that attraction as the magnet becoming lighter as it was drawn toward the frame.

But then he put in the Zinc, and found the opposite effect -- the magnet was repelled! No matter how he turned the magnet (he even flipped it) or adjusted the sample, the same result obtained. For some reason, Zinc has this property.

He thinks it may have something to do with the orbitals. All the other metals have two unfilled slots (an "unbalanced" electron in the orbital), while Zinc 2+ loses electrons (both of them) from one of its "s" shells, and therefore has no unpaired electrons.

But he's stumped, and so am I. Does anyone have an idea about how to answer the question as to why Zinc behaves so differently when exposed to a magnetic field?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Gokul43201]

Your chemistry friend just rediscovered for himself, the difference between diamagnetism and paramagnetism, and the cause of these effects.

Among all the ions he tried, Zn2+ is the only one without unpaired electrons in the valence shell. This makes the ion diamagnetic. All the other ions (Co2+, Fe2+, Mn2+) have 3 or more unpaired electrons and are all paramagnetic.

This is why the different response in the mass balance.

 

[astrokreng]

Dear chemist,

Thank you for sharing your intriguing experiment with us. It sounds like you have stumbled upon a very peculiar magnetic effect indeed! It is always exciting to encounter unexpected results in science, as it challenges us to think outside the box and explore new possibilities.

Based on your description, it does seem like the behavior of Zinc in the presence of a magnetic field is related to its electronic configuration. As you mentioned, Zinc has a full outer electron shell and therefore lacks unpaired electrons, whereas the other transition metals in your experiment have unpaired electrons. This could potentially explain why Zinc is repelled by the magnet, while the other metals are attracted to it.

However, to fully understand and explain this phenomenon, further experimentation and analysis may be needed. It would be interesting to see if the same effect occurs with other elements that have similar electronic configurations to Zinc. Additionally, conducting experiments with varying strengths of magnetic fields could provide more insight into the underlying mechanism at play.

I would also suggest consulting with other scientists and experts in the field of magnetism and electronic configurations to gather more perspectives and potential explanations for this peculiar magnetic effect. Collaboration and open-mindedness are key in the scientific community, and I am confident that together, we can unravel the mystery behind Zinc's behavior in a magnetic field.

Best of luck with your continued research and thank you for bringing this fascinating discovery to our attention.



Scientist in [Your Field of Expertise]