Looking for material with specific magnetic properties

[x Cassidy]

Hi,

To begin with, I am not a native English speaker and have very limited knowledge regarding magnetic fields and thus want to apologize in advance for probable use of incorrect terms.

http://[ATTACH=full]199992[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]199993[/ATTACH] In the picture above, M represents a magnet. S is a material that is not allowed to be affected by the magnet M. That is, S is not allowed to be neither attracted nor repelled by M.

Therefore, I am looking for a material, F, to place between M and S to prevent S from getting affected by M:s magnetic field either by somehow leading the magnetic field from M around S or to block the field from reaching S (is that even possible?). Furthermore, F itself is NOT allowed to be attracted nor repelled to M by its magnetic field.

Currently, I am using a mixture of copper and stainless steel as F. It partly works, but not well enough. I have also tried using a metal known as "Mu-metal" that is supposed to "shield" S. But the problem is that the "Mu-metal" itself is affected by the magnetic field from M.

What materials can lead the magnetic field from M around S or block it better than the current one I am using (mixture of copper and stainless steel)?

Thank you for your help!

 

[Bystander]

Mu-metal, or Hi-mu 80, are pretty much it. Rearrange the geometry?

 

[berkeman]

Hi,

To begin with, I am not a native English speaker and have very limited knowledge regarding magnetic fields and thus want to apologize in advance for probable use of incorrect terms.

http://[ATTACH=full]199994[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]199995[/ATTACH]In the picture above, M represents a magnet. S is a material that is not allowed to be affected by the magnet M. That is, S is not allowed to be neither attracted nor repelled by M.

Therefore, I am looking for a material, F, to place between M and S to prevent S from getting affected by M:s magnetic field either by somehow leading the magnetic field from M around S or to block the field from reaching S (is that even possible?). Furthermore, F itself is NOT allowed to be attracted nor repelled to M by its magnetic field.

Currently, I am using a mixture of copper and stainless steel as F. It partly works, but not well enough. I have also tried using a metal known as "Mu-metal" that is supposed to "shield" S. But the problem is that the "Mu-metal" itself is affected by the magnetic field from M.

What materials can lead the magnetic field from M around S or block it better than the current one I am using (mixture of copper and stainless steel)?

Thank you for your help!

Why do you not want the shield to be attracted to the magnet? Just add some supporting structure to the setup.

I've used products from Magnetic Shield Corporation: http://www.magnetic-shield.com/custom-mumetal-zero-gauss-chambers.html?gclid=CN-x2OTcncoCFVBlfgodjU0Pqw

 

[x Cassidy]

Mu-metal, or Hi-mu 80, are pretty much it. Rearrange the geometry?

Thank you for your answer. I have tried using Mu-metal as "F" in the picture, but the problem is that the Mu-metal itself is attracted to the magnet, which it cannot be. Am I right? While Mu-Metal may shield an object from a magnetic fiel, the Mu-metal itself is attracted to a magnet right?

 

[x Cassidy]

Why do you not want the shield to be attracted to the magnet? Just add some supporting structure to the setup.

I've used products from Magnetic Shield Corporation: http://www.magnetic-shield.com/custom-mumetal-zero-gauss-chambers.html?gclid=CN-x2OTcncoCFVBlfgodjU0Pqw

Thank you for your answer. I do not know how to explain this without being able to show the blueprint (which I won't have access to for a couple of weeks) but it is of great importance that the shield cannot be attracted (or repelled) by the magnet. Eitherway, thank you for the link, I will study the webpage and see if they might have any products that can be of use to me.

 

[berkeman]

Thank you for your answer. I have tried using Mu-metal as "F" in the picture, but the problem is that the Mu-metal itself is attracted to the magnet, which it cannot be. Am I right? While Mu-Metal may shield an object from a magnetic fiel, the Mu-metal itself is attracted to a magnet right?

Yes, AFAIK, any material that will attract magnetic field to provide shielding will be attracted to the field source. Maybe there might be some superconductor solution, but I'm not sure about that. Plus, you probably don't want to have to involve cryogenic cooling in the solution, right?

 

[berkeman]

Thank you for your answer. I do not know how to explain this without being able to show the blueprint (which I won't have access to for a couple of weeks) but it is of great importance that the shield cannot be attracted (or repelled) by the magnet. Eitherway, thank you for the link, I will study the webpage and see if they might have any products that can be of use to me.

Yes, without a better explanation of the problem, we will probably not be able to be of much help. Perhaps you could hire a local engineer under a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to help you with this.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Yes, AFAIK, any material that will attract magnetic field to provide shielding will be attracted to the field source.

That is correct. That includes superconductors. Indeed, if you could do this, you could make a perpetual motion machine. You extract energy from a magnetic configuration, and then you restore the original configuration without applying a force, then you extract energy again...

 

[x Cassidy]

Yes, AFAIK, any material that will attract magnetic field to provide shielding will be attracted to the field source. Maybe there might be some superconductor solution, but I'm not sure about that. Plus, you probably don't want to have to involve cryogenic cooling in the solution, right?

Alright so that is how these materials work to provide shielding. Interesting. So from what I have understood, there is no material that is able to provide shielding without interacting/being affected by the magnet itself? I am afraid superconductor or cryogenic solutions is too expensive (and probably too complicated), but thanks for the suggestion. I will also consider contacting a local engineer!

 

[x Cassidy]

That is correct. That includes superconductors. Indeed, if you could do this, you could make a perpetual motion machine. You extract energy from a magnetic configuration, and then you restore the original configuration without applying a force, then you extract energy again...

Thanks for your reply. So in other words, there is no material that can provide shielding from a magnetic field without being affected itself by the magnetic field?

 

[Vanadium 50]

That is correct If you could do this, you could make a perpetual motion machine. (See above)

 

[russ_watters]

Question asked and answered and since this apparently was a PMM discussion, I'm locking it.