Magnets have been in use for a very long
time and they now take up a large chunk of every industry since they are used
in most of the common and important technological devices that are found in
households and industries alike.
The magnets that are used most are
popularly known as earth magnets. They are very much like any other permanent
magnet but the metal they are made from is what sets them apart. Rare earth
magnets are made from metals that are ferromagnetic. Ferromagnetic metals are
those that possess magnetic properties below a certain temperature even without
the presence of an external magnetic field. These metals produce a very strong
magnetic force when they are magnetized and this makes rare earth magnets very
powerful.
The strength of a rare earth magnet is
said to be so much to the extent that a finger placed between two magnets can
easily be crushed. The magnet force they produce can also be harmful to the
health of young children and babies if they happen to ingest them. It may at
times even lead to death. They should therefore be kept away from children and
should be handled carefully.
Most
popular
Early magnets were discovered before the
18th century but rare earth magnets were only developed later in the
1900s. They then became the magnet of choice for various uses. Of the two
available rare earth magnets, neodymium
is the most common. It is found in varying shapes and sizes.
Rare earth magnets were initially
expensive but prices have gone down with time. Regular consumers can actually
be able to buy them for use in their households or any other purpose.
Application
This type of magnets is very common in
electromagnetic devices like computer hard drives. They are also found in
refrigerators, metal detectors, cordless items like microphones and even
self-powered flashlights.
Their extra strong magnetic force has
pushed along the phasing out of other weaker magnets but not completely. These
magnets are however very brittle and can therefore break very easily if they
fall. They should be handled carefully for this to be avoided.
You can get rare earth magnets
according to your specific needs. If you need them in varying strengths,
different sizes and shapes they will be customized to meet your exact
specifications. A licensed manufacturer would give you good quality magnets
since the sale of such magnets is controlled. Where you are not certain what
design would work best for your project, the manufacturer would be able to help
you design your own customized magnets for your project.
Any magnetic data storage devices like
computers and credit cards should be kept away from these magnets at all costs
because they could easily be ruined. Such storage devices have their data
stored in magnetic patterns. When a magnet passes over them, especially a
strong one, the pattern gets scrambled and the data gets erased. Such strong
magnets require very little time to erase data on such devices so be very
careful around them.
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