A permanent magnet (such as a bar or disk magnet) possesses a magnetic field by virtue of the alignment of all the magnetic particles it is composed of. An electromagnet is generated by a current flowing through a wire loop at the centre of the field.
magnet, Any material capable of attracting iron and producing a magnetic field outside itself. By the end of the 19th century, all known elements and many compounds had been tested for magnetism, and all were found to have some magnetic property. However, only three elements—iron, nickel, and cobalt—exhibit ferromagnetism. See also compass, electromagnet.
