A magnetic alloy is a combination of various metals from the periodic table that contains at least one of the three main magnetic elements: iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co). Such an alloy must contain but is not limited to one or more of these metals. Magnetic alloys have become common, especially in the form of steel (iron and carbon,) alnico (iron, nickel, cobalt, and aluminum,) and permalloy (iron and nickel.) The strongest magnetic element is iron, which allows items made out of these alloys to attract to magnets.
Famous quotes containing the word magnetic:
“We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)