Difference Between Neodymium and Ferrite Magnets

The key difference between neodymium and ferrite magnets is that neodymium magnet contains neodymium, iron and boron as the major components whereas ferrite magnets have iron as the major component.

Rare earth magnets are strong, permanent magnets. Ferrite magnets are not that much strong. Ceramic magnets and regular magnets are two other names for ferrite magnets.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Neodymium Magnets
3. What are Ferrite Magnets
4. Side by Side Comparison – Neodymium vs Ferrite Magnets in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What are Neodymium Magnets?

Neodymium magnets are a type of rare-earth magnets having neodymium, iron and boron. There are two types of rare earth magnets. One is neodymium magnet and the other one is samarium-cobalt magnet. These are permanent magnets. Also, this magnet has an alloy of the mentioned metals in the form of Nd₂Fe₁₄B tetragonal crystalline structure. Further, it is the strongest commercial grade magnet that is available now. Therefore, these magnets can replace many other forms of magnets in modern products such as motors in cordless tools.

Neodymium is a ferromagnetic material; thus, we can magnetize it to become a magnet. However, the Curie temperature (the material at which the magnet loses its magnetism) of this element is very low. Therefore, in its pure form, it shows magnetism at very low temperatures. But, if we make an alloy of neodymium with some transition metals such as iron, we can improve the magnetism of this material. The improved form is what we call “neodymium magnet”.

What are Ferrite Magnets?

Ferrite magnets are ceramic materials having ferromagnetic properties. Therefore, we call them ceramic magnets. regular magnets is another name for ferrite magnets since these magnets are used mainly for regular purposes. The major component in these magnets is ferrite. Ferrite is a ceramic material. It mainly consists of iron(III) oxide. We blend this compound with some other metals such as barium, manganese, nickel and zinc. These components are ferromagnetic and electrically non-conductive.

Additionally, these magnets have low remanence (strength of the magnetic field), coercivity (material’s resistance to becoming demagnetized) comparatively. But, there are two types of ferrite magnets as hard ferrites and soft ferrites according to the coercivity (high and low respectively). Apart from that, the energy product (density of magnetic energy) is also very low comparatively. However, the Curie temperature is comparatively high.

What is the Difference Between Neodymium and Ferrite Magnets?

Neodymium magnets are a type of rare-earth magnets having neodymium, iron and boron while ferrite magnets are ceramic materials having ferromagnetic properties. So, the key difference between neodymium and ferrite magnets is that neodymium magnet contains neodymium, iron and boron as the major contents whereas ferrite magnets have iron as the major component.

Moreover, neodymium magnets have comparatively very high remanence, coercivity and energy product while in the ferrite magnets, these are very low. Besides, a further difference between neodymium and ferrite magnets is that the curie temperature of neodymium magnets is very low but in ferrite magnets, it is very high.

Summary – Neodymium vs Ferrite Magnets

Neodymium magnets are a type of rare-earth magnets having neodymium, iron and boron. Ferrite magnets are ceramic materials having ferromagnetic properties. The key difference between neodymium and ferrite magnets is that neodymium magnet contains neodymium, iron and boron as the major contents whereas ferrite magnets have iron as the major component.

Reference:

1. “Rare-Earth Magnet.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 June 2019, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Neodymium magnets” By brett jordan (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2. “2 Ferrite ring magnets” By Magnequench – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia