Oxygen is weakly magnetic, exhibiting paramagnetism. This means it's attracted to a magnetic field, but the attraction is much weaker than that of ferromagnetic materials like iron.
Understanding Oxygen's Magnetism
The magnetic properties of oxygen stem from its electronic structure. Each oxygen molecule (O₂) has two unpaired electrons in its outermost orbital. These unpaired electrons create a small magnetic moment, causing the molecule to be attracted to a magnetic field. This effect is more pronounced in liquid oxygen, where the molecules are closer together, amplifying the overall magnetic response. [Source: PhysLink - Why is liquid oxygen magnetic?]
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Paramagnetism vs. Ferromagnetism: While oxygen is paramagnetic, it's crucial to distinguish it from ferromagnetism. Ferromagnetic materials, like iron, maintain a strong magnetic field even after the external field is removed. Oxygen, on the other hand, only exhibits magnetism in the presence of an external magnetic field. [Source: Chemistry StackExchange - Could a magnet pull oxygen out of the air?]
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Demonstrations: Several videos and demonstrations online showcase the paramagnetic properties of liquid oxygen, showing its attraction to strong magnets. However, it takes a very strong magnetic field to observe this effect with gaseous oxygen. [Source: YouTube videos cited in references - "Is oxygen magnetic? #shorts," "Oxygen is MAGNETIC?!," "Liquid oxygen is magnetic!"]
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Practical Applications: The paramagnetic nature of oxygen has practical applications, such as oxygen enrichment from air using strong magnetic field gradients. [Source: ScienceDirect - Study on oxygen enrichment from air by application of the gradient magnetic field]
Why is Liquid Oxygen More Magnetic?
The magnetic susceptibility of oxygen is greater in liquid form than in gaseous form due to the increased density of oxygen molecules in the liquid phase. The closer proximity of the molecules allows their magnetic moments to align more effectively when exposed to an external magnetic field, resulting in a stronger overall attraction.
In contrast, nitrogen, a common component of air, is diamagnetic, meaning it's slightly repelled by a magnetic field. [Source: ScienceDirect - Study on oxygen enrichment from air by application of the gradient magnetic field]
