Is Zinc Magnetic ? 7 Facts You Should Know !

Zinc, which is a metal of atomic number 30,has a shiny grey coloured brittle surface after oxidation is removed from it. Let us know whether zinc is magnetic in nature or not.

Zinc is not magnetic but it gets influenced when it comes under the effect of a very strong magnet. If a magnet is moved towards zinc it will be seen that zinc is moving. This is because due to the magnet small currents flow through zinc which have a magnetic field in the opposite direction to the moving magnet.

This signifies the effect of a small electric field that exhibits magnetism. Let us go through the queries like can zinc become magnetic,whether zinc oxide is magnetic or not,what are the magnetic properties of zinc,what is the magnetic permeability of zinc and more like these.

Can zinc become magnetic?

Zinc is a chemical element with symbol Zn and it is an element of group 12(IIB) of the periodic table. Let us focus on whether zinc can become magnetic.

Zinc can never become magnetic by applying any process. Zinc is a diamagnetic metal and it can not be magnetized by rubbing because this will not lead the poles of atoms of zinc to align. This is due to the absence of unpaired electrons in zinc as it possesses diamagnetism.

Zinc can only be magnetized until the strong magnet which has influenced zinc to move is kept closer to zinc.

Is zinc oxide magnetic?

Zinc oxide is an amphoteric oxide which has a white powdered structure. Zinc oxide(ZnO) is insoluble in water. Let us have a look whether zinc oxide is magnetic in nature or not.

Zinc oxide is diamagnetic. Diamagnetic substances usually have magnetic susceptibility less than 1 and hence they do not exhibit magnetic properties. Similarly ZnO does not exhibit magnetic properties,it only has the ability to repel a strong magnet in the opposite direction of the magnetic field of that magnet.

In the frequency range of 8 MHz to 8.265 MHz ZnO nanoparticles behave like ferromagnetic substances and up to 12.5 MHz they behave like paramagnetic substances.

Zinc pieces 1
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Zinc magnetic property

When placed in an external magnetic field all materials exhibit magnetic properties. Let us see the properties of Zinc.

  • Zinc is used to possess diamagnetism. Hence it can repel weakly a strong magnet. It retains magnetic properties until the strong magnet is moved away from it.
  • Zinc atoms do not have any unpaired electrons in their structure. According to Pauli’s exclusion principle directions of spin of a pair of electrons are in opposite directions with respect to each other and this makes the net magnetic moment zero of that pair of electrons.
  • Zn2+ are also diamagnetic in nature. Two electrons escape out from the 4s orbital in case of Zn2+ but the 3d orbital remains filled with paired electrons making it diamagnetic.

Zinc magnetic permeability

Magnetic permeability is the measurement of magnetization of a material when it is kept in an external magnetic field. Let us know about the magnetic permeability of zinc.

The value of magnetic permeability of zinc is  1.2566 x 10-6 Newton/m2 or Henry/meter.

Zinc magnetic susceptibility

Magnetic susceptibility is the measure of how much a substance can get magnetized under the effect of an applied magnetic field. Let us know about the magnetic susceptibility of zinc.

As zinc is a diamagnetic material its magnetic susceptibility is  χm = -1.58 x 10-5 in the SI  unit.

Zinc magnetic moment

The magnetic strength of a magnet which produces a magnetic field is known as the magnetic moment of that magnet. Let us know about the magnetic moment of zinc.

The magnetic moment of zinc is 0. The electronic configuration of zinc is [Ar]3d104s2. There are no unpaired electrons in the atomic structure of zinc. The presence of paired electrons signifies that the spins in the opposite direction balance each other making the net magnetic moment of zinc zero.

Conclusion

In this article 7 important facts related to the magnetism of zinc have been discussed in a brief way. Concepts like whether zinc is magnetic or not,what are its magnetic properties,magnetic permeability,magnetic susceptibility,magnetic moment have been discussed.

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