Earth, a so called lonely planet in terms of life, this speck of dust when compared to the whole of the universe and its numerous heavenly bodies is the only habitable place known to man. But still it is endowed with the boon of sufficient amounts of all necessary substances and infrastructures to support all the varied forms of life on the planet and their various needs.
It is a Pandora’s Box of animated and inanimate things which make life on this planet interesting and wholesome. It also fuels man in his never ending search for knowledge and thirst for progress which goads him to explore new dimensions and search for more and more answers to his interminable questions. Since the 18th century, when the industrial age started, human population has increased exponentially to uncontrollable proportions.
He had to manufacture things on a very large scale and at a very fast rate. Hence man started to exploit earth’s natural resources with increased vehemence and explored its varied riches. The Pandora’s Box had been opened.
Metals, valuable rocks, plants, water, soil, different rocks, minerals – all were dug up and used to quench man’s ever-increasing greed. Eventually man discovered more and more uses for these resources. One example can be cited in the field of magnets available from the earth, the ferrite magnets, the most commonly available type.
Knowing about Ferrite Magnets
Ferrites are chemical compounds with ferric oxide as their main component. They are available in many forms. Among others they are used as soft ferrites and hard ferrites. Soft ferrites are non magnetic but they are used as cores in transformers and other equipments.
Hard ferrites on the other hand are used to form permanent magnets. They are formed by the process of sintering and are composed of barium or strontium ferrites. These magnets have many advantages. They are very resistant to demagnetization. In fact they have stronger magnetic fields than magnetized iron itself.
And they are available at very low rates in the market which makes their use in everyday life even more feasible. They are very hard and brittle and prone to chipping and cracking. Hence they require very specialized and careful machining techniques when they are to be used in equipments.
Where and how to find Ferrite Magnets
Since they are available at dirt cheap rates, ferrite magnets enjoy a very wide application domain. In motor cars to loudspeakers, aero planes to toys, ferrite magnets are the most widely type of magnets today and have mostly displaced alnico magnets.
Although not as effective as rare earth magnets, it can be used as electromagnetic picks for guitars. But their application is becoming more limited with passing days as stronger magnets are flooding the market. Still ferrite magnets hold a special place in the manufacturing world.