Eur. J. Phys. 18 (1997) 448–452.

Printed in the UK PII: S0143-0807(97)84690-9

Curie point of ferromagnets

Yaakov Kraftmakher
Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel

Received 4 June 1997, in final form 18 August 1997

Abstract. A student experiment is described concerning Zusammenfassung. Ein Studentenexperiment in Beziehung

properties of ferromagnets near the Curie point. Gadolinium der Eigenschaften eines Ferromagnetikums nahe des
provides a good opportunity to determine the magnetic Curie-Punktes ist beschrieben. Gadolinium bietet eine gute
susceptibility above the transition point and to evaluate the Gelegenheit, die magnetische Suszeptibilität über der
critical exponent of the susceptibility. The temperature Übergangstemperatur auszuwerten und den kritischen
dependence of the electrical resistance of nickel at enhanced Exponent der Suszeptibilität berechnen. Die
frequencies shows the influence of the magnetic properties of Temperaturabhängigkeit des elektrischen Widerstandes des
the sample on the skin depth. From the measurements, the Nickels in höheren Frequenzen demonstriert den Einfluß der
phase transition is clearly seen and the temperature magnetischen Eigenschaften der Probe auf die Skinschicht.
dependence of the magnetic permeability below the Curie Von den Messungen, der Phasenübergang ist klar und die
point is available. Data on the resistance at an enhanced Temperaturabhändigkeit der magnetischen Permeabilität unter
frequency reveal the phase transition in a nickel-based alloy. der Curie-Temperatur kann berechnet werden. Die Daten des
These items may be added to related student experiments Widerstandes in höheren Frequenzen enthüllen den
described previously. Phasenübergang in einer Nickellegierung. Vorher
beschriebene Studentenexperimente können mit obigen
Punkten ergänzt werden.

1. Introduction One of the most important objectives of the theory

and experiment is to determine the critical exponents.
At temperatures above the Curie temperature, TC , a The mean-field theory predicted values of the critical
ferromagnet loses its intrinsic magnetization. The exponents as follows: α = 0, β = 0.5, γ = 1.
transition from the magnetic to the nonmagnetic state However, observed dependences appeared to be quite
is a second-order phase transition. Many properties of different. The modern theory of critical phenomena
a ferromagnet manifest singularities near the transition can be found elsewhere (Ma 1976, Patashinskii and
point, usually with a power-like dependence (e.g. Fisher Pokrovskii 1979, Stanley 1983, Domb 1996). In
1965, 1967, Heller 1967, Kadanoff et al 1967). The 1982, Kenneth G Wilson was awarded the Nobel Prize
exponent in such a dependence is referred to as the in Physics ‘for his theory for critical phenomena in
critical exponent or critical index. For instance, the connection with phase transitions’ (see Wilson 1993).
temperature dependence of the specific heat, C, follows The theory is very complicated but Maris and Kadanoff
the equation (1978) have shown how Wilson’s theory could be
incorporated into an undergraduate course of statistical
C = A + B|T − TC |−α (1)
physics. At present, the accepted theoretical values
where A and B are constants, generally different below are as follows: α = −0.115 ± 0.009, β = 0.3645 ±
and above the Curie point, and α is termed the critical 0.0025, γ = 1.386 ± 0.004 (Domb 1996). Generally,
exponent of the specific heat. experimentally determined critical exponents are, to
Below the transition point, the spontaneous magneti- within experimental errors, in agreement with these
zation of a ferromagnet, M, obeys the relation theoretical values. The theory also predicts some
relations between the critical exponents, e.g. a relation
M = A(TC − T )β (2)
fitting the above critical exponents:
where β denotes the critical exponent of the spontaneous
α + 2β + γ ≥ 2. (4)
magnetization.
Close to the Curie point, the magnetic susceptibility, Both sets of critical exponents given above fulfil
χ , is given by this relation even as an equality. The parameters
and critical exponents describing the phase transition
χ = A|T − TC |−γ (3)
in a ferromagnet are similar to those for the critical
where γ is the critical exponent of the susceptibility. point of the liquid–vapour coexistence curve. The

0143-0807/97/060448+05$19.50
c 1997 IOP Publishing Ltd & The European Physical Society 448
 Curie point of ferromagnets 449

magnetization is analogous to the difference between the

DC
density of the fluid and the critical density, whereas the source
magnetic susceptibility is analogous to the isothermal
compressibility of the fluid.
Several student experiments related to the Curie point LF Keithley
oscillator thermistor
have already been described. Two of these employ sample 199 DMM
the mutual inductance technique for determining the
Curie point of ferromagnets (Edgar and Quilty 1993, selective Scanner
heater
Fisher and Franz 1995). Other experiments include amplifier
measurements of the electrical resistivity of nickel
(Kamal et al 1983, Fox et al 1986, Sullivan et al 1987) differential
and observations of changes in the resonant frequency transformer
of an LC circuit when the sample placed inside the
inductor undergoes the transition (Fox et al 1986). Figure 1. Set-up to measure the magnetic susceptibility
Two items described below may be added to the of gadolinium.
student experiments reported earlier, namely: (i) the
magnetic susceptibility of a ferromagnet above the Curie AC current creates a magnetic flux in the magnetic core.
point; (ii) the influence of the magnetic properties of Two secondary windings (n2 = 400) are connected in
a ferromagnet on the skin depth when an AC current
opposition; thus without a sample no voltage appears
passes through the sample.
at the transformer’s output. A small additional coil
In the first part, the magnetic susceptibility of
connected in series with the secondary windings is used
gadolinium is measured above the Curie point. When
to finely balance the transformer. This coil is placed
approaching the Curie point, the magnetic susceptibility
near the core to obtain the necessary compensation
depends on the quality of the sample and on the
voltage. With a magnetic sample in the gap of the
approach to the transition point. In magnetic
core, the magnetic flux through this part of the core
measurements, this approach was limited by the value
of |T − TC |/TC in the range 10−4 –10−3 . With such increases. This causes an increase in the voltage induced
a proximity, the magnetic susceptibility above the in the corresponding secondary winding. To avoid the
Curie point may be much smaller than that in the influence of eddy currents in the sample, the operating
ferromagnetic phase (e.g. Heller 1967, Herzum et al frequency is reduced to 30 Hz.
1974). Gadolinium is rather an exception that possesses A spherical gadolinium sample (99.9%), 5 mm in
a high magnetic susceptibility above the Curie point. diameter, is placed into a small glass container filled
It allows one to perform the measurements over a with oil to reduce temperature gradients and to prevent
wide temperature interval in the nonmagnetic phase oxidation of the sample. A small thermistor (Fenwal
and to evaluate the critical exponent of the magnetic Electronics, model UUA 35J3, 5000  at 25 ◦ C) is
susceptibility. attached to the sample. Its resistance, R, relates to the
In the second part, the temperature dependence of absolute temperature as T = 3895/ ln(R/0.0106). A
the electrical resistance of nickel is measured using a bifilar electrical heater is also inserted in the oil. The
DC current and an AC current of enhanced frequency. heater and the thermistor contain no magnetic parts.
The transition to the nonmagnetic state becomes evident The internal magnetic field in the sample, Hi , should
owing to a change in the skin depth. Moreover, the be calculated taking into account the demagnetizing
temperature dependence of the magnetic permeability factor, α. Thus, the magnetization is M =
of the sample can be evaluated from the ratio of the χHi = χ(He − αM), where He is the external
electrical impedance of the sample to its DC resistance. field. Hence, M = He /(α + 1/χ). The output
Similar measurements reveal the phase transition in a voltage of the differential transformer is proportional
nickel-based alloy. to the magnetization of the sample: V = KM =
KHe /(α + 1/χ). Below the Curie point, 1/χ  α.
This assumption allows one to determine the external
2. Magnetic susceptibility of gadolinium magnetic field: He = αV0 /K, where V0 is the output
voltage below TC . For a sphere, α = 13 (SI units).
The aim of this experiment is to determine the magnetic Hence, χ = 3V /(V0 − V ). The absolute value of the
susceptibility of gadolinium above the Curie point. magnetic susceptibility is thus available (Heller 1967).
Gadolinium provides a very convenient temperature of The output voltage of the differential transformer is
the phase transition and a relatively large interval where fed to an amplifier, PAR model 124A. The amplifier
the magnetic susceptibility can be measured. operates in the selective mode and is tuned to the signal
For the measurements, an E-shaped transformer is frequency. The amplified voltage is monitored by an
employed. The core and the coils have been purchased oscilloscope. For initial balancing of the transformer,
from PASCO, catalogue numbers SF-8615, SF-8610 it is more convenient to observe the Lissajous pattern
and SF-8611. The primary winding (n1 = 800) is on the oscilloscope’s screen. For this purpose, the
connected to a low-frequency oscillator (figure 1). The voltage drop across a resistor connected in series with
450 Y Kraftmakher

100 6
Magnetic susceptibility 290.5 K

ln χ
291 K 290 K
50
2

0
290 295 300 305 K
Figure 2. Temperature dependence of the magnetic -2 0 2 4
susceptibility of gadolinium.
ln (T − Tc )
Figure 3. Plot of ln χ versus ln(T − TC ). Determination
the primary winding of the transformer is fed to the of γ includes the choice of the transition temperature.
X-input of the oscilloscope. The best value of TC is that which provides a linear
The temperature range of the measurements is 285– dependence over the broadest temperature range.
325 K. Cold water is used to cool the glass with the
sample before the measurements. After cooling, the
temperature of the sample starts to increase due to heat Kawatra and Budnick 1972). The Curie point can
exchange with the environment. Close to the Curie thus be identified as a point where the slope of the
point, the heating rate should be about 2–3 K min−1 . temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity has
The low heating rate is necessary to reduce temperature a maximum. However, now we employ quite another
gradients in the sample and obtain a sharp transition. In approach.
the vicinity of the transition, the data are taken every When an AC current passes through a sample, the
0.2–0.3 K. The electrical heater inside the glass heats skin depth depends on the magnetic permeability of
the sample above room temperature. the sample, µ, its electrical resistivity, ρ, and on the
The resistance of the thermistor and the output frequency of the current. The skin depth is given
voltage of the amplifier are measured and stored by the by δ = (2ρ/ωµ0 µ)1/2 (SI units), where µ0 = 4π ×
data-acquisition system VIEWDAC with the Keithley 10−7 T m A−1 is the permeability of free space, and
199 DMM/Scanner. The program ORIGIN serves ω is the angular frequency of the current. The theory
to process the data. The magnetic susceptibility is of the skin effect can be found elsewhere (e.g. Stratton
presented as a function of temperature (figure 2). The 1941, Scott 1966, Landau and Lifshitz 1984). In the
critical exponent is available from the plot of ln χ ferromagnetic phase, the skin depth decreases strongly
versus ln(T − TC ). This plot and the value of γ because of the high magnetic permeability of the sample.
depend on TC . In our case, the plot is linear over the Measurements of the resistance with an AC current of
broadest temperature range when TC is taken as 290.5 K, a proper frequency provide an additional opportunity
while the values 290 and 291 K lead to significant to observe the transition to the nonmagnetic state
curvature of the plot (figure 3). The critical exponent γ (e.g. Kraftmakher and Pinegina 1974). Moreover, the
equals 1.25. A more rigorous treatment should include magnetic permeability of the sample can be evaluated
determinations of both TC and γ by the least-squares as shown below.
method. The ratio of the impedance of a round wire, Z,
The magnetic susceptibility of gadolinium above the to its DC resistance, R, is expressed through Bessel
Curie point has been reported in many papers (e.g. functions as follows (e.g. Irving and Mullineux 1959,
Graham 1965, Wantenaar et al 1984, Hargraves et Relton 1965):
al 1988). For gadolinium, experimentally obtained γ
Z/R = kaI0 (ka)/2I00 (ka) (5)
values appeared to be somewhat smaller than those for
other ferromagnets. where k = iωµ0 µ/ρ.
2

The ratio of Z, the modulus of the impedance, to

the DC resistance R is thus a function of the quantity
3. Skin effect in nickel α/δ (figure 4). Numerical data for this plot were taken
from Abramowitz and Stegun (1965). The frequency of
Near the Curie point, the electrical resistivity of a 10 kHz was chosen to neglect the skin effect in the
ferromagnetic metal manifests a specific behaviour that nonmagnetic state and obtain a significant difference
becomes clearer when the temperature derivative of between Z and R in the magnetic phase.
the resistivity is measured directly (Kraftmakher 1967). Direct measurements of the absolute values of Z
This derivative behaves like the specific heat (e.g. and R are accompanied by unavoidable errors, so that
 Curie point of ferromagnets 451

1.2 0.40

Z, R (arb. units)
Z/R − 1
0.35
0.8

0.30

0.4
0.25

0 2 4 6 8 560 580 600 620 640 660 K

2 Figure 5. DC resistance (——) and impedance of the
(a /δ) nickel sample at 10 kHz (•) fitted to the resistivity at
Figure 4. Theoretical dependence of the quantity 400 ◦ C.
Z /R − 1 versus (a /δ)2 .
100

Magnetic permeability
the values above the Curie point may appear to be
somewhat different. A good alternative approach is to 80
fit both quantities, Z and R, to the resistivity of nickel
at a selected temperature above the Curie point (e.g.
60
0.31 µ m at 400 ◦ C). In this case, one immediately
obtains data on the DC resistivity over the whole
temperature range that will be necessary for calculations 40
of the magnetic permeability of the sample. Since a, ω
and ρ are now known, the magnetic permeability is 20
available from the determined Z/R ratio. In the range
1 < a/δ < 3, the quantity Y = (a/δ)2 = a 2 ωµ0 µ/2ρ
can be taken as a function of X = Z/R − 1 as follows: 560 580 600 620 640 660 K
Y = 0.53 + 8.7X − 5.7X + 3.2X .2 3
(6) Figure 6. Magnetic permeability of nickel evaluated from
the measured Z /R ratio.
The magnetic permeability of the sample is available
from the relation
3–5 K min−1 . The temperature of the sample is
µ = 2Yρ/a 2 ωµ0 . (7) measured with a thermocouple. For the iron versus
A nickel wire (99.99%), 1 mm in diameter, is placed (Cu + 43% Ni) thermocouple used, the temperature
in an oven and connected to the outputs of a DC source relates to the thermal EMF U , expressed in mV, as
and an oscillator. A DC current and an AC current T = 6.3 + 17.89U + 0.006U 2 . This equation is valid
pass through the sample simultaneously. The four-probe in the range 300–400 ◦ C. The data-acquisition system
technique is used to measure the DC and AC voltage stores the EMF of the thermocouple, the DC voltage
drops across the central portion of the sample, of about drop across the central portion of the sample and the
1 cm long. Nickel wires welded to the sample serve as amplified AC voltage for processing the data by the
the potential probes. The DC voltage is fed to the data- program ORIGIN.
acquisition system. The AC component is fed, through From the change of the impedance, the phase
a transformer, to an amplifier, PAR model 124A. It transition is quite evident (figure 5). The evaluated
operates as a selective amplifier tuned to the frequency magnetic permeability of the sample appeared to be
of the current. Since the AC voltage to be measured in reasonable agreement with the available data (e.g.
is small, of the order of 1 mV, it is very important to Herzum et al 1974). The increase in the permeability
reduce the magnetic coupling between the current leads close to the Curie point is clearly seen (figure 6).
and the potential leads. The areas of both loops should
be kept to a minimum. The amplified AC voltage is
monitored with an oscilloscope. 4. Phase transition in a nickel-based alloy
To increase the thermal inertia and avoid temperature
gradients, the sample is placed in an aluminium block A nickel-based alloy, monel 400 (Ni65/Cu33/Fe2),
inside the oven. The measurements are carried out is used in the measurements. The sample, 1 mm
during cooling of the oven. After heating up to in diameter, is placed in a metallic can provided by
400 ◦ C, the heating current is changed to obtain a an electrical heater and a small platinum thermometer
desired cooling rate near the Curie point, of about (100  at 0 ◦ C). In the range 250–320 K, the absolute
452 Y Kraftmakher

120 References
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118 Domb C 1996 The Critical Point (London: Taylor and
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temperature relates to the resistance of the thermometer, Irving J and Mullineux 1959 Mathematics in Physics and
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the four-probe technique. Thin copper wires soldered Palciauskas V V, Rayl M, Swift J, Aspnes D and Kane J
1967 Rev. Mod. Phys. 39 395
to the sample serve as the potential probes. First, the
Kamal R, Sikri S and Sood B R 1983 Am. J. Phys. 51 631
metallic can containing the sample and the thermometer Kawatra M P and Budnick J I 1972 Dynamical Aspects of
is cooled by placing it into a Dewar vessel with liquid Critical Phenomena (New York: Gordon and Breach)
nitrogen. Then the can is raised above the liquid pp 257–91
and the temperature of the sample starts to increase. Kraftmakher Y A 1967 Sov. Phys.–Solid State 9 1199
The electrical heater heats the sample to above room Kraftmakher Y A and Pinegina T Y 1974 Sov. Phys.–Solid
temperature. Close to the transition, the heating rate State 16 78
should be about 3–5 K min−1 . The data obtained are Landau L D and Lifshitz E M 1984 Electrodynamics of
stored by the data-acquisition system. The change in Continuous Media (Oxford: Pergamon) pp 199–210
Ma Shang-keng 1976 Modern Theory of Critical Phenomena
the resistance measured at the high frequency shows the
(London: Benjamin)
phase transition (figure 7). The magnetic permeability Maris H J and Kadanoff L P 1978 Am. J. Phys. 46 652
of the alloy is smaller than that of pure nickel. The Patashinskii A Z and Pokrovskii V L 1979 Fluctuation
frequency necessary to observe the skin effect in the Theory of Phase Transitions (New York: Pergamon)
alloy is therefore higher than that in pure nickel. Relton F E 1965 Applied Bessel Functions (New York:
All the materials for the measurements (gadolinium, Dover) pp 176–8
nickel and monel) were purchased from the Goodfellow Scott W T 1966 The Physics of Electricity and Magnetism
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Critical Phenomena (London: Oxford University Press)
Stratton J A 1941 Electromagnetic Theory (New York:
Acknowledgments McGraw-Hill) pp 531–7
Sullivan R A L, Dunk A, Ford P J, Hampton R N and
The author would like to thank Dr A Butenko for his Hopkins J C 1987 Eur. J. Phys. 8 300
help in computerizing the experiment. The support Wantenaar G H J, Campbell S J, Chaplin D H, McKenna T J
by the Ministry of Absorption of Israel is gratefully and Wilson G V H 1984 Phys. Rev. B 29 1419
acknowledged. Wilson K G 1993 Nobel Lectures in Physics 1981–1990
(Singapore: World Scientific) pp 102–32