Scholarly Commons

Induced Magnetic Fields Through Aluminum

All materials are at least slightly diamagnetic, meaning that the material’s internal magnetic field opposes external fields and therefore slightly repels. Aluminum, however, is a paramagnetic material, meaning that it’s internal magnetic field adds to an external field. Alternating current is used to produce a magnetic field in a large coil. The current in a second coil is monitored to measure how well this magnetic field travels through aluminum sheets. A decrease in the magnetic field shows that even though aluminum is a paramagnetic material, it can exhibit diamagnetic properties as a result of induction. The effect of thickness and size of the aluminum sheets on the resulting magnetic field is observed.