Saturation (magnetic)

Magnetization curves of 9 ferromagnetic materials, showing saturation.
  1. sheet steel
  2. silicon steel
  3. cast steel
  4. tungsten steel
  5. magnet steel
  6. cast iron
  7. nickel
  8. cobalt
  9. magnetite[1]

Seen in some magnetic materials, saturation is the state reached when an increase in applied external magnetic field H cannot increase the magnetization of the material further, so the total magnetic flux density B more or less levels off. (Though, magnetization continues to increase very slowly with the field due to paramagnetism.) Saturation is a characteristic of ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic materials, such as iron, nickel, cobalt and their alloys. Different ferromagnetic materials have different saturation levels.

  1. ^ Steinmetz, Charles (1917). "fig. 42". Theory and Calculation of Electric Circuits. McGraw-Hill.