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Ferrimagnetism
Type of magnetic phenomenon / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Ferromagnetism.
A ferrimagnetic material is a material that has populations of atoms with opposing magnetic moments, as in antiferromagnetism, but these moments are unequal in magnitude, so a spontaneous magnetization remains.[1] This can for example occur when the populations consist of different atoms or ions (such as Fe2+ and Fe3+).
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Like ferromagnetic substances, ferrimagnetic substances are attracted by magnets and can be magnetized to make permanent magnets. The oldest known magnetic substance, magnetite (Fe3O4), was classified as a ferromagnet before Louis Néel discovered ferrimagnetism in 1948.[2] Since the discovery, numerous uses have been found for ferrimagnetic materials, such as hard-drive platters and biomedical applications.