The most common and straightforward answer to is Aluminum magnetic? is No.
But is it true? Let’s explore and learn.
Iron is ferromagnetic, which means that once the individual magnetic dipoles in the material are aligned, they tend to stay aligned even without an external magnetic field. In simple terms, ferromagnetic metals show excellent magnetic properties.
Because the material is not a ferromagnet does not mean it does not interact magnetically. One such interaction is paramagnetism.
When you place a paramagnetic material in a magnetic field, its individual dipoles tend to align with the magnetic field and hence with each other, causing the material to become magnetic. Aluminum, like lithium and magnesium, is a paramagnetic metal.
Aluminum will not have magnetic properties without an external magnetic field. Still, it becomes mildly magnetic when one is present as its electrons align to the magnetic field.
Table of Contents
What is Aluminum
Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted announced the discovery of Aluminum in 1825. In 1856, French chemist Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville began the first industrial manufacture of Aluminum.
Aluminum is a post-transition metal that falls into the boron group; as is customary for the group, Aluminum forms compounds mainly in the +3-oxidation state.
Because of its strong affinity for oxygen, Aluminum is commonly found in nature in the form of oxides; as a result, Aluminum is found on Earth primarily in rocks in the crust. Aluminum is the third most common element after oxygen and silicon, rather than in the mantle, and is rarely a free metal.
Aluminum combines smoothly with most other metals (except most alkali and group 13 metals); over 140 intermetallic metals are known. The process of preparing comprises heating fixed metals in a specific proportion, followed by progressive cooling and tempering. Their bonding is mainly metallic, and the crystal shape is primarily determined by packing efficiency.
Aluminum is a great electrical and thermal conductor, with around 60% of copper’s thermal and electrical conductivity and just 30% of the density.
Aluminum vs. Magnetism
Because Aluminum only has one unpaired electron, it weakly attracts a magnet in the presence of an external magnetic field. This is caused by the presence of unpaired electrons within the aluminum atom’s s and p shells.
Aluminum is not magnetic under normal conditions, owing to its crystal structure.
Aluminum has a critical temperature of 1.2 kelvin, making it a superconductor with a required magnetic field of around 100 gauss (10 milliteslas). Because it is paramagnetic, it is primarily unaffected by static magnetic fields.
Aluminum is not totally a nonmagnetic substance, but for magnetic uses, it’s always better to use a different material rather than Aluminum.
Is Aluminum a Metal?
Yes, it is. Aluminum is a metal. Aluminum combines the properties of transition and post-transition metals. Because it, like its heavier group 13 congeners, has few accessible electrons for metallic bonding, it possesses the physical features of a post-transition metal with longer-than-expected interatomic distances.
Is Any Type of Aluminum Magnetic?
Because Aluminum is paramagnetic, you would need to apply a large field to it to make it magnetic for a short period, but if that field is removed, it will rapidly lose that magnetism. Most aluminum types will display some magnetic attraction when exposed to high enough magnetic fields.
Is Aluminum Magnetic – Conclusion
The best answer to is Aluminum magnetic is that Aluminum is not magnetic under normal conditions. However, it’s always a good idea to know that this metal can interact with magnets. In strong magnetic fields, Aluminum could become slightly magnetic.
References
https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/13/aluminium
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Aluminum#section=Computed-Properties
