Is Bronze Magnetic? 7 Facts You Should Know!

Bronze is a copper and tin alloy widely used to make guitar strings, bells, medals, coins, nails, fitters, etc. Let us see whether bronze is magnetic.

Bronze is not magnetic as it is mostly made of copper, which is diamagnetic. It has an addition of 3-4% of tin that does not affect its magnetic property after the alloy formation. The unpaired electrons pair up, leaving no free electrons to show attraction towards the magnet.

The magnetic property of a metal is mainly due to the presence of unpaired electrons that are free to spin and align in the direction of a magnetic field. We shall further elaborate on the magnetic permeability of bronze and the magnetic behavior of different types of bronze with all facts in this article.

Why bronze is not magnetic?

There are different types of bronze composed of impurities. The pure form of bronze is nonmagnetic. Let us discuss the reason behind this fact.

Bronze is not magnetic because of its composition. The Cu ([Ar] 4s¹ 3d¹⁰) has a stable electronic configuration and hence is diamagnetic. Tin ([Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s² 5p²) has two free electrons making it paramagnetic. But these electrons pair up during the alloy formation losing their weak magnetic property.

Bronze Magnetic Permeability

Magnetic permeability is the aptness of a matter towards the magnetic flux flowing through it. Let us talk about the magnetic permeability of bronze.

The magnetic permeability of bronze is less than one and is measured as a ratio of magnetic field intensity and magnetizing field. The electrons are not available in an alloy that can align in the direction of the magnetic field; hence the magnetic flux does not pass through the bronze material.

Is cast bronze magnetic?

Cast bronze is produced by melting bronze and then molding it. Let us see whether cast bronze is magnetic or not.

The cast bronze is not magnetic because it shows diamagnetic characteristics. The composition of bronze does not change upon melting it to the 1,742⁰ F, nor does the pairing of electron changes; hence the bronze remains diamagnetic even after casting.

Is aluminum bronze magnetic?

Aluminium bronze is non-sparking and hence found useful in oil and gas industries. Let us see whether aluminium bronze is magnetic or not.

Aluminium bronze shows weak magnetic attraction in the external magnetic field because of the presence of aluminium. Aluminium with electronic configuration [Ne] 3s² 3p¹ is paramagnetic as it has one unpaired electron that spins and aligns in the direction of the magnetic field.

Is phosphor bronze magnetic?

Phosphor bronze is an alloy of 89-99.5 % copper, 0.5-11%Tin and 0.01-0.35% phosphorus. Let us discuss whether phosphor bronze is magnetic or not.

The phosphor bronze is nonmagnetic because the addition of phosphorus does not add to intensify the magnetic property of the bronze. The electronic configuration of phosphorus is [Ne] 3s² 3p³, the half-filled 3p orbital that makes it stable and shows diamagnetic characteristics.

Is silicon bronze magnetic?

Silicon bronze is suitable for welding that holds good corrosion resistance properties. Let us see whether silicon bronze is magnetic or not.

Silicon bronze is non-magnetic because there is no availability of unpaired electrons. The electronic configuration of silicon is [Ne] 3s² 3p², the two electrons in the 3p orbital pair up according to Pauli’s exclusion principle, and hence silicon behaves as diamagnetic.

Is manganese bronze magnetic?

Manganese bronze is very strong and is used to make gears, piston heads, trust bearers, sealing rings, etc. Let us see whether manganese bronze is magnetic or not.

Manganese bronze is magnetic because of manganese, which shows paramagnetic characteristics. The electronic configuration of manganese is [Ar] 4s² 3d⁵; the unpaired electrons present in the 3d orbital support the magnetic permeability of the manganese bronze.

Conclusion

We can conclude from this article that bronze is nonmagnetic and shows diamagnetic characteristics in its pure form due to the unavailability of free electrons. It shows weak magnetic attraction by adding paramagnetic or ferromagnetic metal to the bronze alloy.

Read more about Do Acids Conduct Electricity?

Read more about Does Titanium Conduct Electricity?

Read more about Does Cobalt Conduct Electricity?