In the end it boils down to the alignment of electronic spins in the material. The electronic spins can be thought of as small magnets on the atomic level. What one commonly associates with being "magnetic" are ferro/ferrimagnetics where you have a spontaneous magnetization, that is, electronic spins have more or less common alignment due to interactions between the electrons/crystalline structure of the material. As a result, the magnetic fields of the electrons add up, which overall makes it a stronger magnet/gives it a larger magnetization. Not all materials have this property. When talking about steel, it seems they are "the same material", but it exhibits different magnetic responses, because the crystalline structure is different depending on composition and heat treatment. In other words, the possibility for the alignment of electronic spins is coupled to the crystal structure. There are more types of magnetism and all materials exhibit magnetic behaviors, but they behave different from what is commonly thought of as magnetism. These types are Para-, Dia-, Antiferromagnetism. The first two types do not show a spontaneous magnetization, meaning that there is no natural alignment of elecetronic spins, they are "randomly" oriented without application of a magnetic field. The last type exhibits spontaneous magnetization, but in that case, the spins always align opposite to each other, effectively cancelling out a perceived magnetic field from the outside.
Thanks for sharing knowledge
But what makes magnetic versus not? Isn't everything magnetic if magnet is strong enough?
In the end it boils down to the alignment of electronic spins in the material. The electronic spins can be thought of as small magnets on the atomic level. What one commonly associates with being "magnetic" are ferro/ferrimagnetics where you have a spontaneous magnetization, that is, electronic spins have more or less common alignment due to interactions between the electrons/crystalline structure of the material. As a result, the magnetic fields of the electrons add up, which overall makes it a stronger magnet/gives it a larger magnetization. Not all materials have this property. When talking about steel, it seems they are "the same material", but it exhibits different magnetic responses, because the crystalline structure is different depending on composition and heat treatment. In other words, the possibility for the alignment of electronic spins is coupled to the crystal structure. There are more types of magnetism and all materials exhibit magnetic behaviors, but they behave different from what is commonly thought of as magnetism. These types are Para-, Dia-, Antiferromagnetism. The first two types do not show a spontaneous magnetization, meaning that there is no natural alignment of elecetronic spins, they are "randomly" oriented without application of a magnetic field. The last type exhibits spontaneous magnetization, but in that case, the spins always align opposite to each other, effectively cancelling out a perceived magnetic field from the outside.
@@Pewpewlazorz112 Thanks for this extensive explanation! :)
Must Sink is from brass not from inox
That's exactly what i was thinking about