View source for Ferromagnetism

{{not to be confused with|Ferrimagnetism}} 
[[File:MagnetEZ.jpg|thumb|A [[magnet]] made of [[alnico]], a ferromagnetic iron alloy, with its [[Magnet keeper|keeper]].]]
'''Ferromagnetism''' is the basic mechanism by which certain materials (such as [[iron]]) form [[permanent magnet]]s, or are attracted to [[magnet]]s. In [[physics]], several different types of [[magnetism]] are distinguished. Ferromagnetism (along with the similar effect [[ferrimagnetism]])  is the strongest type and is responsible for the common phenomenon of magnetism in [[Magnet#Common uses|magnets encountered in everyday life]].<ref name=Chikazumi>{{cite book|last=Chikazumi|first=Sōshin|title=Physics of ferromagnetism|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780199564811|edition=2nd |others= English edition prepared with the assistance of C.D. Graham, Jr |page=118}}</ref> Substances respond weakly to magnetic fields with three other types of magnetism—[[paramagnetism]], [[diamagnetism]], and [[antiferromagnetism]]—but the forces are usually so weak that they can be detected only by sensitive instruments in a laboratory.  An everyday example of ferromagnetism is a [[refrigerator magnet]] used to hold notes on a refrigerator door.  The attraction between a magnet and ferromagnetic material is "the quality of magnetism first apparent to the ancient world, and to us today".<ref name="bozorth">Bozorth, Richard M. ''Ferromagnetism'', first published 1951, reprinted 1993 by [[IEEE]] Press, New York as a "Classic Reissue." {{ISBN|0-7803-1032-2}}.</ref>

Permanent magnets (materials that can be [[Magnetization|magnetized]] by an external [[magnetic field]] and remain magnetized after the external field is removed) are either ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic, as are the materials that are noticeably attracted to them.  Only a few substances are ferromagnetic.  The common ones are [[iron]], [[cobalt]], [[nickel]] and most of their alloys, and some compounds of [[Rare-earth magnet|rare earth metals]].
Ferromagnetism is very important in industry and modern technology, and is the basis for many electrical and electromechanical devices such as [[electromagnet]]s, [[electric motor]]s, [[Electric generator|generators]], [[transformer]]s, and [[magnetic storage]] such as [[tape recorder]]s, and [[hard disk]]s, and [[nondestructive testing]] of ferrous materials.

==History and distinction from ferrimagnetism==
[[File:Ferromagnetic ordering.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|Ferromagnetic ordering in the strict sense]]
[[File:Ferrimagnetic ordering.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|Ferrimagnetic ordering]]
Historically, the term ''ferromagnetism'' was used for any material that could exhibit spontaneous magnetization: a net magnetic moment in the absence of an external magnetic field. This general definition is still in common use.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Somasundaran|editor-first1=P.|title=Encyclopedia of surface and colloid science|date=2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis|location=New York|isbn=9780849396083|pages=3471|edition=2nd}}</ref>

However, in a landmark paper in 1948, [[Louis Néel]] showed there are two levels of magnetic alignment that result in this behavior. One is ferromagnetism in the strict sense, where all the magnetic moments are aligned. The other is ''[[ferrimagnetism]]'', where some magnetic moments point in the opposite direction but have a smaller contribution, so there is still a spontaneous magnetization.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cullity |first1=B.D. |last2=Graham |first2=C.D. |chapter=6. Ferrimagnetism |title=Introduction to Magnetic Materials |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781118211496}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Aharoni |first1=Amikam |title=Introduction to the theory of ferromagnetism |date=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780198508090 |edition=2nd}}</ref>{{rp|28–29}}

In the special case where the opposing moments balance completely, the alignment is known as ''[[antiferromagnetism]]''; but antiferromagnets do not have a spontaneous magnetization.
{{clear}}

==Ferromagnetic materials==<!-- [[Ferromagnetic materials]] redirects here -->
{{See also|Category:Ferromagnetic materials}}

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right;margin:0 0 1em 1em;"
|+ style="font-size: 80%" | Curie temperatures for some crystalline ferromagnetic materials<ref>{{cite book|last=Kittel|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Kittel|title=Introduction to Solid State Physics|edition=sixth|publisher=[[John Wiley and Sons]]|year=1986|isbn=0-471-87474-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal = IRM Quarterly|year = 2000|volume = 10|issue = 3|page = 6|author = Jackson, Mike|publisher = Institute for Rock Magnetism|url =http://www.irm.umn.edu/quarterly/irmq10-3.pdf|title=Wherefore Gadolinium? Magnetism of the Rare Earths}}</ref>
|-
! Material
! Curie <br/>{{abbr|temp.|temperature}} (K)
|-
| [[Cobalt|Co]]
| 1388
|-
| [[Iron|Fe]]
| 1043
|-
| [[Iron(III) oxide|Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>]]{{efn|name=fi|Ferrimagnetic material}}
| 948
|-
| [[Iron(II,III) oxide|FeOFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>]]{{efn|name=fi}}
| 858
|-
| NiOFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>{{efn|name=fi}}
| 858
|-
| [[Copper|Cu]]OFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>{{efn|name=fi}}
| 728
|-
| MgOFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>{{efn|name=fi}}
| 713
|-
| [[Manganese|Mn]][[Bismuth|Bi]]
| 630
|-
| [[Nickel|Ni]]
| 627
|-
| [[neodymium_magnet| Nd<sub>2</sub>Fe<sub>14 </sub>B ]]
| 593
|-
| Mn[[Antimony|Sb]]
| 587
|-
| MnOFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>{{efn|name=fi}}
| 573
|-
| [[Yttrium iron garnet|Y<sub>3</sub>Fe<sub>5</sub>O<sub>12</sub>]]{{efn|name=fi}}
| 560
|-
| [[Chromium(IV) oxide|CrO<sub>2</sub>]]
| 386
|-
| Mn[[Arsenic|As]]
| 318
|-
| [[Gadolinium|Gd]]
| 292
|-
| [[Terbium|Tb]]
| 219
|-
| [[Dysprosium|Dy]]
| 88
|-
| [[Europium|Eu]]O
| 69
<!-- The numbers in this table currently come from Kittel, as referenced in the text. Please do not add new numbers without adding the corresponding reference. -->
|-
| colspan=2 | {{noteslist}}
|}
The table above lists a selection of ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic compounds, along with the temperature above which they cease to exhibit spontaneous magnetization (see [[Curie temperature]]).

Ferromagnetism is a property not just of the chemical make-up of a material, but of its crystalline structure and microstructure. There are ferromagnetic metal alloys whose constituents are not themselves ferromagnetic, called [[Heusler alloy]]s, named after [[Fritz Heusler]]. Conversely there are non-magnetic alloys, such as types of [[stainless steel]], composed almost exclusively of ferromagnetic metals.

Amorphous (non-crystalline) ferromagnetic metallic alloys can be made by very rapid [[quenching]] (cooling) of a liquid alloy. These have the advantage that their properties are nearly isotropic (not aligned along a crystal axis); this results in low [[coercivity]], low [[hysteresis]] loss, high permeability, and high electrical resistivity. One such typical material is a transition metal-metalloid alloy, made from about 80% transition metal (usually Fe, Co, or Ni) and a metalloid component ([[Boron|B]], [[Carbon|C]], [[Silicon|Si]], [[Phosphorus|P]], or [[Aluminium|Al]]) that lowers the melting point.
<!--changes here are not correct; commenting out until sorted out on talk: One example of such an amorphous alloy is Fe<sub>80</sub>B<sub>20</sub> (Metglas 2605) which has a Curie temperature of 647&nbsp;K and a room-temperature (300&nbsp;K) saturation magnetization of 1.58&nbsp;[[tesla (unit)|teslas]] (1,257&nbsp;[[gauss]]), compared with 1,043&nbsp;K and 2.15&nbsp;T (1,707&nbsp;gauss) for pure iron from above. The melting point, or more precisely the glass transition temperature, is only 714&nbsp;K for the alloy versus a melting point of 1,811&nbsp;K for pure iron.-->

A relatively new class of exceptionally strong ferromagnetic materials are the [[rare-earth magnet]]s. They contain [[lanthanide]] elements that are known for their ability to carry large magnetic moments in well-localized f-orbitals.

Most ferromagnetic materials are metals, since the conducting electrons are often responsible for mediating the ferromagnetic interactions. It is therefore a challenge to develop ferromagnetic insulators, especially [[Multiferroics|multiferroic]] materials, which are both ferromagnetic and [[ferroelectric]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hill|first=Nicola A.|date=2000-07-01|title=Why Are There so Few Magnetic Ferroelectrics?|journal=The Journal of Physical Chemistry B|volume=104|issue=29|pages=6694–6709|doi=10.1021/jp000114x|issn=1520-6106}}</ref>

===Actinide ferromagnets===
A number of [[actinide]] compounds are ferromagnets at room temperature or exhibit ferromagnetism upon cooling. [[Plutonium|Pu]][[Phosphorus|P]] is a paramagnet with [[Cubic crystal system|cubic symmetry]] at [[room temperature]], but which undergoes a structural transition into a [[Tetragonal crystal system|tetragonal]] state with ferromagnetic order when cooled below its T<sub>C</sub>&nbsp;=&nbsp;125&nbsp;K. In its ferromagnetic state, PuP's [[easy axis]] is in the <100> direction.<ref name=Lander>{{cite journal |vauthors=Lander GH, Lam DJ |title=Neutron diffraction study of PuP: The electronic ground state |journal=Phys. Rev. B|year=1976 |volume=14 |issue=9 |pages=4064–67 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.14.4064|bibcode = 1976PhRvB..14.4064L }}</ref>

In [[Neptunium|Np]]Fe<sub>2</sub> the easy axis is <111>.<ref name=Aldred>{{cite journal |vauthors=Aldred AT, Dunlap BD, Lam DJ, Lander GH, Mueller MH, Nowik I |title=Magnetic properties of neptunium Laves phases: NpMn<sub>2</sub>, NpFe<sub>2</sub>, NpCo<sub>2</sub>, and NpNi<sub>2</sub> |journal=Phys. Rev. B|year=1975 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=530–44 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.11.530|bibcode = 1975PhRvB..11..530A }}</ref> Above {{nowrap|''T''<sub>C</sub> ≈ 500&nbsp;K}} NpFe<sub>2</sub> is also paramagnetic and cubic. Cooling below the Curie temperature produces a rhombohedral distortion wherein the rhombohedral angle changes from 60° (cubic phase) to 60.53°. An alternate description of this distortion is to consider the length ''c'' along the unique trigonal axis (after the distortion has begun) and ''a'' as the distance in the plane perpendicular to ''c''. In the cubic phase this reduces to {{nowrap|''{{sfrac|c|a}}'' {{=}} 1.00}}. Below the [[Curie temperature]]

:<math>\frac{c}{a} - 1 = -(120 \pm 5) \times 10^{-4}</math>

which is the largest strain in any [[actinide]] compound.<ref name=Mueller>{{cite journal |vauthors=Mueller MH, Lander GH, Hoff HA, Knott HW, Reddy JF |title=Lattice distortions measured in actinide ferromagnets PuP, NpFe<sub>2</sub>, and NpNi<sub>2</sub> |journal= J Phys Colloque C4, Supplement |date=Apr 1979 |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=C4-68–C4-69 |url=http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/21/88/17/PDF/ajp-jphyscol197940C421.pdf}}</ref> NpNi<sub>2</sub> undergoes a similar lattice distortion below {{nowrap|''T''<sub>C</sub> {{=}} 32 K}}, with a strain of (43&nbsp;±&nbsp;5)&nbsp;×&nbsp;10<sup>−4</sup>.<ref name=Mueller/> NpCo<sub>2</sub> is a ferrimagnet below 15&nbsp;K.

===Lithium gas===
In 2009, a team of [[MIT]] physicists demonstrated that a lithium gas cooled to less than one kelvin can exhibit ferromagnetism.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=G-B Jo |author2=Y-R Lee |author3=J-H Choi |author4=C.A. Christensen |author5=T.H. Kim |author6=J.H. Thywissen |author7=D.E. Pritchard |author8=W. Ketterle |title=Itinerant Ferromagnetism in a Fermi Gas of Ultracold Atoms |journal= Science |year=2009 |volume=325  |pages=1521–24 |doi=10.1126/science.1177112 |pmid=19762638 |issue=5947 |bibcode = 2009Sci...325.1521J |arxiv = 0907.2888 }}</ref> The team cooled [[fermion]]ic lithium-6 to less than {{nowrap|150 nK}} (150 billionths of one kelvin) using infrared [[laser cooling]]. This demonstration is the first time that ferromagnetism has been demonstrated in a gas.

===Tetragonal ruthenium===
In 2018, a team of [[University of Minnesota]] physicists demonstrated that body-centered tetragonal [[ruthenium]] exhibits ferromagnetism at room temperature.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Quarterman, P. |author2=Sun, Congli |author3=Garcia-Barriocanal, Javier |author4=DC, Mahendra |author5=Lv, Yang |author6=Manipatruni, Sasikanth |author7=Nikonov, Dmitri E. |author8=Young, Ian A. |author9=Voyles, Paul M. |author10=Wang, Jian-Ping |title=Demonstration of Ru as the 4th ferromagnetic element at room temperature |journal= Nature Communications |year=2018 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=2058 |doi=10.1038/s41467-018-04512-1 |pmid=29802304 |bibcode=2018NatCo...9.2058Q |pmc=5970227 }}</ref>

==Explanation==
The [[Bohr–van Leeuwen theorem]], discovered in the 1910s, showed that [[classical physics]] theories are unable to account for any form of magnetism, including ferromagnetism. Magnetism is now regarded as a purely [[quantum mechanical]] effect. Ferromagnetism arises due to two effects from quantum mechanics: [[spin (physics)|spin]] and the [[Pauli exclusion principle]].<ref>{{cite book|last = Feynman|first = Richard P.|author2=Robert Leighton |author3=Matthew Sands|title = The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. 2|url = https://archive.org/details/feynmanlectureso0003feyn|url-access = registration|publisher = Addison-Wesley|year = 1963 |location = |pages = Ch. 37}}</ref>

===Origin of magnetism===
One of the fundamental properties of an [[electron]] (besides that it carries charge) is that it has a [[Electron magnetic moment|magnetic dipole moment]], i.e., it behaves like a tiny magnet, producing a [[magnetic field]]. This dipole moment comes from the more fundamental property of the electron that it has quantum mechanical [[Spin (physics)|spin]].  Due to its quantum nature, the spin of the electron can be in one of only two states; with the magnetic field either pointing "up" or "down" (for any choice of up and down). The spin of the electrons in atoms is the main source of ferromagnetism, although there is also a contribution from the [[Atomic orbital|orbital]] [[angular momentum]] of the electron about the [[Atomic nucleus|nucleus]]. When these magnetic dipoles in a piece of matter are aligned, (point in the same direction) their individually tiny magnetic fields add together to create a much larger macroscopic field.

However, materials made of atoms with filled [[electron shell]]s have a total dipole moment of zero: because the electrons all exist in pairs with opposite spin, every electron's magnetic moment is cancelled by the opposite moment of the second electron in the pair. Only atoms with partially filled shells (i.e., [[Unpaired electron|unpaired spins]]) can have a net magnetic moment, so ferromagnetism occurs only in materials with partially filled shells. Because of [[Hund's rules]], the first few electrons in a shell tend to have the same spin, thereby increasing the total dipole moment.

These [[unpaired electron|unpaired dipoles]] (often called simply "spins" even though they also generally include orbital angular momentum) tend to align in parallel to an external magnetic field, an effect called [[paramagnetism]]. Ferromagnetism involves an additional phenomenon, however: in a few substances the dipoles tend to align spontaneously, giving rise to a [[spontaneous magnetization]], even when there is no applied field.

===Exchange interaction===
{{Main|Exchange interaction}}
When two nearby atoms have unpaired electrons, whether the electron spins are parallel or antiparallel affects whether the electrons can share the same orbit as a result of the [[Quantum mechanics|quantum mechanical]] effect called the [[exchange interaction]]. This in turn affects the electron location and the [[Coulomb force|Coulomb (electrostatic) interaction]] and thus the energy difference between these states.

The exchange interaction is related to the [[Pauli exclusion principle]], which says that two electrons with the same spin cannot also be in the same spatial state (orbital). This is a consequence of the [[spin-statistics theorem]] and that electrons are [[fermions]]. Therefore, under certain conditions, when the [[atomic orbital|orbitals]] of the unpaired outer [[valence electron]]s from adjacent atoms overlap, the distributions of their electric charge in space are farther apart when the electrons have parallel spins than when they have opposite spins. This reduces the [[electrostatic energy]] of the electrons when their spins are parallel compared to their energy when the spins are anti-parallel, so the parallel-spin state is more stable.  In simple terms, the electrons, which repel one another, can move "further apart" by aligning their spins, so the spins of these electrons tend to line up.  This difference in energy is called the [[exchange energy]].

This energy difference can be orders of magnitude larger than the energy differences associated with the [[magnetic dipole-dipole interaction]] due to dipole orientation,<ref name=Chikazumi2>{{cite book|last=Chikazumi|first=Sōshin|title=Physics of ferromagnetism|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780199564811|edition=2nd |others= English edition prepared with the assistance of C.D. Graham, Jr |pages=129–30}}</ref> which tends to align the dipoles antiparallel.   In certain doped semiconductor oxides [[RKKY interaction]]s have been shown to bring about periodic longer-range magnetic interactions, a phenomenon of significance in the study of [[Spintronics|spintronic materials]].<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Assadi| first1=M.H.N| last2=Hanaor| first2=D.A.H| title= Theoretical study on copper's energetics and magnetism in TiO<sub>2</sub> polymorphs| journal= Journal of Applied Physics| year=2013| volume=113| issue=23| pages= 233913–233913–5| doi=10.1063/1.4811539|arxiv = 1304.1854 |bibcode = 2013JAP...113w3913A }}</ref>

The materials in which the exchange interaction is much stronger than the competing dipole-dipole interaction are frequently called ''magnetic materials''. For instance, in iron (Fe) the exchange force is about 1000 times stronger than the dipole interaction.  Therefore, below the Curie temperature virtually all of the dipoles in a ferromagnetic material will be aligned. In addition to ferromagnetism, the exchange interaction is also responsible for the other types of spontaneous ordering of atomic magnetic moments occurring in magnetic solids, [[antiferromagnetism]] and [[ferrimagnetism]].
There are different exchange interaction mechanisms which create the magnetism in different ferromagnetic, ferrimagnetic, and antiferromagnetic substances.  These mechanisms include [[Exchange interaction#Direct exchange interactions in solids|direct exchange]], [[RKKY interaction|RKKY exchange]], [[double exchange]], and [[superexchange]].

===Magnetic anisotropy===
{{Main|Magnetic anisotropy}}

Although the exchange interaction keeps spins aligned, it does not align them in a particular direction. Without [[magnetic anisotropy]], the spins in a magnet randomly change direction in response to [[thermal fluctuations]] and the magnet is [[superparamagnetic]]. There are several kinds of magnetic anisotropy, the most common of which is [[magnetocrystalline anisotropy]]. This is a dependence of the energy on the direction of magnetization relative to the [[crystallographic lattice]]. Another common source of anisotropy, [[inverse magnetostriction]], is induced by internal [[deformation (mechanics)|strains]]. [[Single-domain (magnetic)|Single-domain magnets]] also can have a ''shape anisotropy'' due to the magnetostatic effects of the particle shape. As the temperature of a magnet increases, the anisotropy tends to decrease, and there is often a [[superparamagnetism#Blocking temperature|blocking temperature]] at which a transition to superparamagnetism occurs.<ref name=Aharoni>{{cite book|last=Aharoni|first=Amikam|author-link=Amikam Aharoni|title=Introduction to the Theory of Ferromagnetism|publisher=[[Clarendon Press]]|year=1996|isbn=0-19-851791-2|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontoth00ahar|url-status=dead|url-access=registration}}</ref>

===Magnetic domains===
[[File:Electromagnetic dynamic magnetic domain motion of grain oriented electrical silicon steel.gif|thumb|Electromagnetic dynamic magnetic domain motion of grain oriented electrical silicon steel.]]
[[File:Weiss-Bezirke1.png|thumb|Kerr micrograph of metal surface showing magnetic domains, with red and green stripes denoting opposite magnetization directions.]]
{{Main|Magnetic domain}}

The above would seem to suggest that every piece of ferromagnetic material should have a strong magnetic field, since all the spins are aligned, yet iron and other ferromagnets are often found in an "unmagnetized" state.  The reason for this is that a bulk piece of ferromagnetic material is divided into tiny regions called ''[[magnetic domain]]s''<ref name="Feynman">
 {{cite book
  | last = Feynman | first = Richard P.
  | author2=Robert B. Leighton
  | author3=Matthew Sands
  | title = The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. I
  | publisher = California Inst. of Technology
  | year = 1963
  | location = Pasadena
  | pages = 37.5–37.6
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bDF-uoUmttUC&pg=SA4-PA4| isbn = 0465024939
  }}</ref> (also known as ''Weiss domains'').  Within each domain, the spins are aligned, but (if the bulk material is in its lowest energy configuration; i.e. ''unmagnetized''), the spins of separate domains point in different directions and their magnetic fields cancel out, so the object has no net large scale magnetic field.

Ferromagnetic materials spontaneously divide into magnetic domains because the ''[[exchange interaction]]'' is a short-range force, so over long distances of many atoms the tendency of the magnetic dipoles to reduce their energy by orienting in opposite directions wins out. If all the dipoles in a piece of ferromagnetic material are aligned parallel, it creates a large magnetic field extending into the space around it.  This contains a lot of [[magnetostatics|magnetostatic]] energy.  The material can reduce this energy by splitting into many domains pointing in different directions, so the magnetic field is confined to small local fields in the material, reducing the volume of the field. The domains are separated by thin [[Domain wall (magnetism)|domain wall]]s a number of molecules thick, in which the direction of magnetization of the dipoles rotates smoothly from one domain's direction to the other.

===Magnetized materials===
[[File:Moving magnetic domains by Zureks.gif|thumb|Moving domain walls in a grain of [[silicon steel]] caused by an increasing external magnetic field in the "downward" direction, observed in a Kerr microscope. White areas are domains with magnetization directed up, dark areas are domains with magnetization directed down.]]

Thus, a piece of iron in its lowest energy state ("unmagnetized") generally has little or no net magnetic field. However, the magnetic domains in a material are not fixed in place; they are simply regions where the spins of the electrons have aligned spontaneously due to their magnetic fields, and thus can be altered by an external magnetic field.  If a strong enough external magnetic field is applied to the material, the domain walls will move by the process of the spins of the electrons in atoms near the wall in one domain turning under the influence of the external field to face in the same direction as the electrons in the other domain, thus reorienting the domains so more of the dipoles are aligned with the external field.  The domains will remain aligned when the external field is removed, creating a magnetic field of their own extending into the space around the material, thus creating a "permanent" magnet. The domains do not go back to their original minimum energy configuration when the field is removed because the domain walls tend to become 'pinned' or 'snagged' on defects in the crystal lattice, preserving their parallel orientation.  This is shown by the [[Barkhausen effect]]: as the magnetizing field is changed, the magnetization changes in thousands of tiny discontinuous jumps as the domain walls suddenly "snap" past defects.

This magnetization as a function of the external field is described by a [[Hysteresis loop|hysteresis curve]]. Although this state of aligned domains found in a piece of magnetized ferromagnetic material is not a minimal-energy configuration, it is [[metastable]], and can persist for long periods, as shown by samples of [[magnetite]] from the sea floor which have maintained their magnetization for millions of years.

Heating and then cooling ([[Annealing (metallurgy)|annealing]]) a magnetized material, subjecting it to vibration by hammering it, or applying a rapidly oscillating magnetic field from a [[degaussing|degaussing coil]] tends to release the domain walls from their pinned state, and the domain boundaries tend to move back to a lower energy configuration with less external magnetic field, thus ''[[demagnetization|demagnetizing]]'' the material.

Commercial [[magnet]]s are made of "hard" ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic materials with very large [[magnetic anisotropy]] such as [[alnico]] and [[ferrite (magnet)|ferrites]], which have a very strong tendency for the magnetization to be pointed along one axis of the crystal, the "easy axis".  During manufacture the materials are subjected to various metallurgical processes in a powerful magnetic field, which aligns the crystal grains so their "easy" axes of magnetization all point in the same direction.  Thus the magnetization, and the resulting magnetic field, is "built in" to the crystal structure of the material, making it very difficult to demagnetize.

===Curie temperature===
{{Main|Curie temperature}}
As the temperature increases, thermal motion, or [[entropy]], competes with the ferromagnetic tendency for dipoles to align. When the temperature rises beyond a certain point, called the [[Curie temperature]], there is a second-order [[phase transition]] and the system can no longer maintain a spontaneous magnetization, so its ability to be magnetized or attracted to a magnet disappears, although it still responds paramagnetically to an external field. Below that temperature, there is a [[spontaneous symmetry breaking]] and magnetic moments become aligned with their neighbors. The Curie temperature itself is a [[critical point (thermodynamics)|critical point]], where the [[magnetic susceptibility]] is theoretically infinite and, although there is no net magnetization, domain-like spin correlations fluctuate at all length scales.

The study of ferromagnetic phase transitions, especially via the simplified [[Ising model|Ising]] spin model, had an important impact on the development of statistical physics. There, it was first clearly shown that [[mean field theory]] approaches failed to predict the correct behavior at the critical point (which was found to fall under a ''universality class'' that includes many other systems, such as liquid-gas transitions), and had to be replaced by [[renormalization group]] theory.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

==See also==
*[[Ferromagnetic material properties]]
*[[Orbital magnetization]]
*[[Stoner criterion]]
*[[Thermo-magnetic motor]]
*[[Neodymium_magnet]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://lightandmatter.com/area1sn.html Electromagnetism] – ch. 11, from an online textbook
*{{cite web
|last = Sandeman
|first = Karl
|title = Ferromagnetic Materials
|work = DoITPoMS
|publisher = Dept. of Materials Sci. and Metallurgy, Univ. of Cambridge
|date = January 2008
|url = https://www.doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/ferromagnetic/printall.php
|accessdate = 2019-06-22}} Detailed nonmathematical description of ferromagnetic materials with illustrations
* [http://www.cond-mat.de/events/correl13/manuscripts/pavarini.pdf Magnetism: Models and Mechanisms] in E.  Pavarini, E. Koch, and U. Schollwöck: Emergent Phenomena in Correlated Matter, Jülich 2013, {{ISBN|978-3-89336-884-6}}

{{magnetic states}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Quantum phases]]
[[Category:Magnetic ordering]]
[[Category:Hysteresis]]