Diamagnetic
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diamagnetic
[¦dī·ə·mag′ned·ik]Diamagnetic
a substance that becomes magnetized against the direction of an external magnetic field. In the absence of an external magnetic field a diamagnetic is nonmagnetic. Upon exposure to an external magnetic field each atom of a diamagnetic acquires a magnetic moment j (each mole of the substance acquires a total moment J) proportional to the field intensity H and directed against the field. Therefore, the magnetic susceptibility x = J/H is always negative for diamagnetics. The diamagnetic susceptibility χ is small with respect to absolute magnitude and is weakly dependent on both the magnetic field intensity and the temperature (seeTable 1, where xis the susceptibility of 1 mole).
Table 1. Magnetic susceptibility of certain diamagnetics (under normal conditions) | |
---|---|
X x 10-6 | |
Nitrogen (N2)............... | -12.0 |
Hydrogen (H2)............... | -4.0 |
Germanium (Ge)............... | -7.7 |
Silicon (Si)............... | -3.1 |
Water, liquid (H2O)............... | -13.0 |
Table salt (NaCI)............... | -30.3 |
Acetone (C3H6O)............... | -33.8 |
Glycerol (C3H8O3)............... | -57.1 |
Naphthalene (C12H8)............... | -91.8(avg.) |
Diamagnetics include silicon, phosphurus, bismuth, zinc, copper, gold, silver, the inert gases, nitrogen, and hydrogen. Many organic and inorganic compounds are diamagnetic.