Explain, briefly, what a hysteresis cycle is

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
1 reply · 3K views
blueyellow

Homework Statement



explain, briefly, what a hysteresis cycle is [2 marks]

The Attempt at a Solution



I don't think the answer is to draw a graph because that is the next question. The subject is electricity and magnetism but the above question does not refer specifically to electricity and magnetism. I have looked things up in books and the internet, but none of them will define the hysteresis cycle briefly, they all write paragraphs
 
Physics news on Phys.org
When a ferromagnetic material is magnetized in one direction, it will not relax back to zero magnetization when the imposed magnetizing field is removed. It must be driven back to zero by a field in the opposite direction. If an alternating magnetic field is applied to the material, its magnetization will trace out a loop called a hysteresis loop. The lack of re-traceability of the magnetization curve is the property called hysteresis and it is related to the existence of magnetic domains in the material.