paramagnetism

paramagnetism,  kind of magnetism characteristic of materials weakly attracted by a strong magnet, named and extensively investigated by the British scientist Michael Faraday beginning in 1845. Most elements and some compounds are paramagnetic. Strong paramagnetism (not to be confused with the ferromagnetism of the elements iron, cobalt, nickel, and other alloys) is exhibited by compounds containing iron, palladium, platinum, and the rare-earth elements. In such compounds atoms of these elements have some inner electron shells that are incomplete, causing their unpaired electrons to spin like tops and orbit like satellites, thus making the atoms a permanent magnet tending to align ... (100 of 210 words)