n.
Physical phenomenon in which certain electrically uncharged materials strongly attract others.
It is associated with iron , cobalt , nickel , and some alloys or compounds containing these elements. It is caused by the alignment patterns of the material's atoms, each of which acts as a simple electromagnet , due to the motion and spin of the electrons . The tiny magnets spontaneously align themselves in the same direction, so their magnetic fields reinforce each other. Ferromagnetic materials are magnetized easily. Above a temperature called the Curie point, they cease to be magnetic, but they become ferromagnetic again upon cooling below the Curie point. See also ferrimagnetism .