Overall, materials made with lower levels of these key elements can only be temporarily magnetised and generally have a much weaker magnetic field. Which Metal is the Most Magnetic? The most magnetic of all the magnetic metals is iron.
The three elemental metals that are naturally ferromagnetic are iron, cobalt, and nickel. Compounds and alloys can also be magnetic if they contain iron, cobalt, or nickel, such as steel and stainless steel. Non-magnetic metals include aluminum, copper, lead, tin, titanium, zinc, and alloys such as brass and bronze.
Natural Magnets
The strongest natural magnet material is lodestone, also called magnetite.
Earth's magnetic field is strongest at the poles and weakest at the equator. The Earth's magnetic field resembles that of an enormous bar magnet. The field lines emerge from the south pole of the earth and re-enter in the north pole.
Neodymium and Samarium Cobalt : The Two Most Common Types of Rare Earth Magnets. Neodymium (Nd-Fe-B) and Samarium Cobalt (SmCo) are the two most common types of rare earth magnet materials.
But exactly what types of metals do they attract? Neodymium magnets are known as the strongest magnet material available and have the highest holding strength to these metals. They are called ferromagnetic metals containing mainly iron, nickel and rare earth alloys.
Quick Answer
Some steels are only weakly magnetic, and some are not magnetic at all. Austenitic stainless steels like 304 or 316 stainless are good examples of this. A ferritic stainless like 430 stainless steel, on the other hand, is ferromagnetic. Magnets stick to it.
Certain metals in their natural states such as aluminium, copper, brass, lead gold, and silver don't attract magnets due to the fact they are weak metals. However, properties including iron and steel can be added to these metals in order to make them magnetic.
Alnico magnets (so called as they are primarily composed of aluminium, nickel, and cobalt) are an inexpensive and common example of a strong and stable permanent magnet.
Stainless steel is made with at least 10.5% chromium, to make it tough against corrosion and surface marks. Where stainless steel contains a relatively low ratio of chromium, it is known as martensitic, and is still magnetic.
Magnetic minerals are an important class of iron-bearing minerals that occur as iron oxides (magnetite, maghemite, haematite), oxyhydroxides (goethite, ferrihydrite, lepidocrocite), and sulphides (greigite, pyrrhotite).
Some of the most common non-ferrous metals sold for scrap are aluminum, copper, brass, zinc, lead, and tin. Iron is not, however, the only metal that attracts a magnet. If your magnet sticks to the metal, then you could have nickel or cobalt on your hands as well.
First off, if your "pure gold" is magnetic, then there is iron inside (or maybe nickel). In fact, this is one way to tell if jewelry is actually gold. If it's not attracted to a magnet then there is no iron - but it still might not be gold.
How magnetic is aluminium? Under normal circumstances, aluminium is not magnetic, mainly because of its crystal structure. It's referred to as a paramagnetic material along with other metals like Magnesium and Lithium.
Silver is not magnetic, not even with the strongest magnet. However, silver is diamagnetic. If you hold a silver coin at 45 degrees a suitable magnet will slide down it slowly. This is because the moving magnet sets up an 'electrical field'* that slows its fall.
What to do: Hold the magnet up to the gold. If it's real gold it will not stick to the magnet. (Fun fact: Real gold is not magnetic.) Fake gold, on the other hand, will stick to the magnet.
It is illegal under federal law for any person to sell, offer for sale, manufacture, distribute in commerce, or import into the United States any Zen Magnets and Neoballs.
Metals you may encounter less often but are magnetic include neodymium, samarium, and gadolinium. The only time an item containing gold or silver could stick to magnets is if it was silver or gold plated.
Neodymium and Samarium cobalt magnets each have their own unique characteristics, benefits and attributes. Neodymium Magnets (commonly known as Neodymium Iron Boride, NdFeb, or Neo magnets) are the most powerful Rare-Earth magnets available today.
Hence, titanium is non-magnetic.
Platinum is commonly used in jewellery and electronics. Although this precious metal looks great and is an excellent conductor, it has no magnetic properties.