That regular old black magnet on my refrigerator, holding up the Thai menu that was in my door last week.
I understand that it’s a magnet, but what is it made of?
And is it the same stuff the electric eyes on the stove are made of?
Wiki doesn’t answer your question, but it’s still interesting: Refrigerator magnet - Wikipedia
My guess would be ferrite
powdered iron oxide (and other metals) is pressed together and magnetized for common cheap magnets.
don’t know what your electric eyes are? describe.
the flexible flat novelty magnets known as fridge magnets are different.
Thanks for these replies!
Like these: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8n_qF2cJ_1I/0.jpg
Apparently, the term I should have used was “elements” not “eyes.”
Why would those be magnetic? I may be missing something here.
No, they aren’t magnetic at all. I’m just wondering if they are composed of the same material because they look very similar.
the material looks very similar to the powdered iron oxide in cheap magnets but it is not the same.
Aren’t cheaper magnets magnetized with an electric coil?
There are natural magnets that come out of the earth. I’d expect them to be much more expensive. I’m not really sure.
cheaper magnets are created by exposure to a strong magnetic fields
Fridge magnets are a mixture of ferrite & clay that get blended and then baked into a flexible ribbon. It’s then then magnetized by an electromagnet as a final step in production. There’s a Discovery on magnets which does a pretty good job of showing the process.
The resistance coils on a stove are typically made of nichrome wire and then coated with a protective anti-abrasion layer. Heating element - Wikipedia isn’t gereat, but is a start.
Thanks, all!