Text: From: Doug P. McNutt,Summit >Diamagnetism is the showing of magnetic properties on a small scale. For instance, liquid oxygen shows diamagnetic properties. Not quite right. There are three kinds of magnetism. Diamagnetic: The material tends to exclude magnetic fields. That is, the B field inside the material is less than the H field outside which is responsible for the B field. The µ in B=µH is less than 1. A perfect diamagnet, such as a superconductor, shows µ=0. Most diamegnetic materials have µ very close to one. Paramagnetic: The material intensifies fields. µ>1 but not µ>>1. Most materials are paramagnetic. I am pretty sure that oxygen molecules are paramagnetic. Ferromagnetic: The µ>>1 case of paramagnetic. Usually associated with unfilled D shell electrons whose spins can get aligned.

See Also: PARAMAGNETISM; OXYGEN

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