Individuals unknowingly use magnets on a daily basis. Several devices and home appliances contain magnets. Magnets form the coating upon which data is recorded on storage facilities such as hard disks in computers. The magnetic strip that is situated on the back of ATM, debit and credit cards is used to encode essential information about the cardholder. In hospitals, magnets play an important role in imaging procedures.
Commercial functions that require the separation of magnetic and non magnetic materials utilize the role of permanent magnets. Magnetized screw drivers make it possible to pick up things that cannot be held by hand. Permanent magnets constitute various magnets such as nano structured, rare earth, single molecule and composite magnets.
Ceramic and alnico magnets are some of the main composite magnets. The ceramic type is typically used for large scale production of low cost magnets. The combination of aluminum, nickel, iron, cobalt and certain elements forms alnico magnets, which are used to create uniquely shaped magnets. Loudspeakers make use of other composites such as ticonal magnets.
The cheapest magnets are ferrite or ceramic while the most costly ones are rare earth magnets. Compact items require rare earth magnets that feature highly powerful magnetic fields. The fragile nature of rare earth makes it necessary to coat them to prevent corrosion and cracks from taking place.
