The Physics
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Curie Temperature of Iron

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Bibliographic Entry Result
(w/surrounding text)
Standardized
Result
Beichner and Serway. Physics for Scientists & Engineers with Modern Physics. 5th ed. Orlando: Saunders College, 2000: 963.
Substance Tcurie (K)
iron 1043
1043 K
"Curie Temperature." McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology. 8th ed. 20 vols. N.P: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
Ferromagnets Curie Temperature
Fe 1418 °F
1043 K
Hall, H.E and J.R. Hook. Solid State Physics. 2nd ed. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 1991: 226.
Material Tc (K)
Fe 1043
1043 K
Ferromagnetic Curie Temperatures. Georgia State University.
Material Curie Temperature (K)
Fe 1043
1043 K
Lee, E.W. Magnetism: An Introductory Survey. New York: Dover Publications Inc, 1970: 117.
Element- Atomic # in Brackets Curie Temperature °K Saturation intensity of Magnetization at 0 °K
Iron (26) 1043 1740
1043 K

The source of magnetism is moving charge. When a material is magnetic, it means that it is capable of being magnetized, or able to attract a magnet. Ferromagnetism is a form of magnetism in which a substance tends to take a position with the magnetic axis parallel to the lines in a magnetic field. A ferromagnetic material is a substance that is able to become highly magnetic in a relatively weak magnetic field. A paramagnetic material is a substance whose ability to become magnetized is a little greater than a vacuum. A diamagnetic material is a substance that is repelled by a magnet because the atoms take a position at right angles to the lines of force of a magnet.

The Curie temperature is an essential temperature for a ferromagnetic material. For example, if a ferromagnetic material has a temperature under its Curie temperature, then the material has a net spontaneous magnetization, which means that the material becomes ferromagnetic, or magnetic. If a ferromagnetic material has a temperature over its Curie temperature, then the material becomes paramagnetic, or does not become a magnet.

The Curie temperature of iron is 1043 K. Even sources copyrighted before the year 1984 had the Curie temperature of iron to be the same number as more current sources. When the temperature of iron is at the Curie temperature or higher, then the iron becomes paramagnetic and when the temperature of iron is below the Curie temperature, then it is ferromagnetic. Each element has its own Curie temperature. For example, the Curie temperature of iron is different from that of Cobalt or Nickel.

Felicia Lau -- 2002

Bibliographic Entry Result
(w/surrounding text)
Standardized
Result
Serway, Raymond, and Robert Beichner. Physics for Scientists and Engineers. 5th ed. Orlando: Saunders College Publishing, 2000.
Substance TCurie (K)
Iron 1043
1043 K
Magnetics - Part 1. BIOMAG3.ASC. February 18, 1994. (From the now defunct PLENUM newsletter Volume 1, Number 3, September-October 1989). "When iron is heated, it loses its strong magnetic properties. This occurs at 760 degrees centigrade (for iron)." 1033 K
Weast, Robert. Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 48th ed. Cleveland: The Chemical Rubber Co., 1967.
Element Curie Point (°C)
Fe 770
1043 K
Demo #13: The Curie Temperature. Jeffrey S. Barker. SUNY Binghamton. March 18, 1996. "This temperature is called the Curie temperature and for iron it is about 700 °C" ~1000 K

Iron, nickel, cobalt and some of the rare earths (gadolinium, dysprosium) exhibit a unique magnetic behavior which is called ferromagnetism. The name was derived from ferrum (iron in Latin) since iron is the most common ferromagnetic element and illustrates the most drastic ferromagnetic characteristics. Ferromagnetic materials exhibit a long range order phenomenon which causes the unpaired electron spins to line up parallel with each other in a region called a domain. Within the domain, the magnetic field is intense, but in a bulk sample the material will usually be un-magnetized because the many domains will themselves be randomly oriented with respect to one another. Ferromagnetism manifests itself in the fact that a small externally imposed magnetic field can cause the magnetic domains to line up with each other and become magnetized. Ferromagnets will tend to stay magnetized to some extent after being subjected to an external magnetic field. This tendency to "remember their magnetic history" is called hysteresis.

For a given ferromagnetic material the long range order abruptly disappears at a certain temperature which is called the Curie temperature for the material. The Curie temperature of iron is about 1043 K. At temperatures below the Curie point, the magnetic moments are completely aligned within magnetic domains in ferromagnetic materials. As the temperature is increased, thermal fluctuations abruptly destroy this alignment until the net magnetization becomes zero at and above the Curie point. Above the Curie point, the material is purely paramagnetic. The Curie temperature gives an idea of the amount of energy it takes to break up the long-range ordering in the material.

Harvey Lei -- 2005