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The process by which lodestone is created has long been an open question in geology. Only a small amount of the magnetite on the Earth is found magnetized as lodestone. Ordinary magnetite is attracted to a magnetic field as iron and steel are, but does not tend to become magnetized itself; it has too low a magnetic coercivity.
Naturally magnetized pieces of magnetite, called lodestone, will attract small pieces of iron, which is how ancient peoples first discovered the property of magnetism. Magnetite is black or brownish-black with a metallic luster, has a Mohs hardness of 5–6 and leaves a black streak .
Magnetite crystals with a cubic habit are rare but have been found at Balmat, St. Lawrence County, New York, [47] [48] and at Långban, Sweden. [49] This habit may be a result of crystallization in the presence of cations such as zinc. [50] Magnetite can also be found in fossils due to biomineralization and are referred to as magnetofossils. [51]
Sample of magnetite, naturally occurring Fe 3 O 4. Fe 3 O 4 is ferrimagnetic with a Curie temperature of 858 K (585 °C). There is a phase transition at 120 K (−153 °C), called Verwey transition where there is a discontinuity in the structure, conductivity and magnetic properties. [21]
Ancient people learned about magnetism from lodestones (or magnetite) which are naturally magnetized pieces of iron ore.The word magnet was adopted in Middle English from Latin magnetum "lodestone", ultimately from Greek μαγνῆτις [λίθος] (magnētis [lithos]) [1] meaning "[stone] from Magnesia", [2] a place in Anatolia where lodestones were found (today Manisa in modern-day Turkey).
Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other.Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, magnetism is one of two aspects of electromagnetism.
To deduce the properties of minerals in the deep Earth, it is necessary to know how their density varies with pressure and temperature. Such a relation is called an equation of state (EOS). A simple example of an EOS that is predicted by the Debye model for harmonic lattice vibrations is the Mie-Grünheisen equation of state:
At the x = 0 end is magnetite, while the x = 1 composition is ulvöspinel. The titanomagnetites have an inverse spinel crystal structure and at high temperatures are a solid solution series. Crystals formed from titanomagnetites by cation-deficient oxidation are called titanomaghemites, an important example of which is maghemite.