Teaching about magnetic materials - A pedagogical dilemma

Thumbnail Image
Files
Date
2024-03-07
Authors
O'Sullivan, Colm T.
Fahy, Stephen
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Institute of Physics; American Association of Physics Teachers
Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0120835
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
Although magnetic materials had been studied for over 2000 years, it was not until the development of quantum mechanics in the early years of the 20th century that any satisfactory explanation of their properties could be provided. This paper outlines some of the difficulties that this fact presents for teachers attempting to explain permanent magnetism to learners at different levels who do not have a background in quantum physics. The authors suggest how a consistent and physically correct approach may be achieved.
Description
Keywords
Magnetic properties , Ferromagnetism , Magnetic materials , Magnetic dipole moment , Classical electromagnetism , Teaching , Spin angular momentum
Citation
O’Sullivan, C. and Fahy, S. (2024) ‘Teaching about magnetic materials-a pedagogical dilemma’, The Physics Teacher, 62(3), pp. 188–190. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0120835.
Link to publisher’s version
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10468/15637
Collections
Physics - Journal Articles
Copyright
© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by American Association of Physics Teachers. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in The Physics Teacher, 62(3) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0120835