A material whose domains strongly resist changes in the direction of its magnetic field is described as magnetically ?

A material whose domains strongly resist changes in the direction of its magnetic field is described as magnetically ?

• A. Soft
• B. Permanent
• C. Hard
• D. Paramagnetic

Answer: (C)

Magnetic domains that strongly resist changing their orientation describe a hard magnetic material, which tends to keep its magnetization instead of losing it when the external field is removed. In hard magnets the domains are strongly pinned, so you need a fairly strong field to reorient them. That resistance to demagnetization is why these materials function as permanent magnets. Soft magnets, by comparison, have domains that reorient easily and lose most of their magnetization when the field is removed, and paramagnetic materials only align weakly with applied fields without forming permanent aligned domains.

Magnetic domains that strongly resist changing their orientation describe a hard magnetic material, which tends to keep its magnetization instead of losing it when the external field is removed. In hard magnets the domains are strongly pinned, so you need a fairly strong field to reorient them. That resistance to demagnetization is why these materials function as permanent magnets. Soft magnets, by comparison, have domains that reorient easily and lose most of their magnetization when the field is removed, and paramagnetic materials only align weakly with applied fields without forming permanent aligned domains.