Why can’t we call any plastic as a magnetic material? What makes magnetic materials; magnetic? What are magnetic and non-magnetic materials? Let us find out!
Introduction
Materials can be classified based on the response towards a magnet. Let us perform an activity to find how different materials respond towards a magnet.
Activity I
Collect different materials from your surroundings like Iron nail, brass screw, aluminium foil, plastic comb, coin, sewing needle, copper wire, aluminium foil, glass marble, eraser, stainless steel spoon, plastic ruler, pencil etc. Now bring a magnet close to the objects.
Observation: We will observe that some materials like Iron nail, Sewing needle, and coin are attracted towards a magnet while the other substances like a brass screw, Aluminium foil, plastic comb etc do not get attracted towards a magnet.
1. Magnetic Materials
Those materials which are attracted b a magnet are magnetic materials. Iron, Nickel, and Cobalt are the magnetic substances as objects made up of these materials are attracted by a magnet. Also, magnetic materials can be magnetized or we can say that magnetic materials can be converted into magnets.
2. Non-Magnetic Materials
Those materials which are not attracted by a magnet are called non- magnetic materials. All the substances other than iron, nickel, and Cobalt are non-magnetic substances for example plastic, rubber, water, etc are nonmagnetic materials. Non-magnetic substances cannot be magnetized.
Application of Magnetic and Non-Magnetic Materials
We can use magnetic and non-magnetic properties of a substance in the daily life for ease of working. some of them are –