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Why is iron magnetic and copper is not?
Iron exhibits ferromagnetism due to its atomic structure, specifically the alignment of unpaired electrons in its d-orbitals, which allows for a net magnetic moment. In contrast, copper lacks this property because its electron configuration results in paired electrons that cancel out any magnetic effects. This fundamental difference in electron arrangement is the reason why iron is magnetic while copper is not.
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quantum123 said:Why is iron magnetic and copper is not?