What Is the Difference Between n35 and n50 Magnets?

These super cool super magnets called neodymium magnets are crazy strong and you probably heard of them as power magnets. Neodymium magnets are permanent magnets and currently the absolute strongest type of magnet you can buy.

There are different varieties of neodymium magnets and each of them is specified by the letter “n” followed by a number going from 35 to 50.

So what is the difference between n35 and n50 magnets? The difference between n35 and n50 magnets is the maximum strength that they can be magnetized to. The basic principle is that the higher the number the stronger the magnet. N35 is, therefore, the weakest and n50 the strongest of the neodymium magnets.

This is the super short answer to a question which touches a topic with a lot of facets. If you’re curious you definitely read on to the next sections where I will tell you much more about the neodymium magnets.

I no expert or scientist just a magnet-fan like yourself probably who has taken it upon himself to find out about there cool magnets.

What is the difference between n35 and n50 magnets?

It is actually quite hard to determine exactly how stronger an N50 magnet is compared to an N35 magnet. The reason for this is, that several factors influence a magnets strength.

So if you want to compare two magnets, and get a truthful answer, you must get to magnets with the exact same dimensions.

But to talk about the difference in general, the N50 has about 15 Magegauss Oersted more in strength, compared to the N35, which will feel like quite a lot, if you ask me.

Meaning of the “N”

The first thing you need to know is that the “n” stands for “neo” which is short neodymium.

So actually the only thing the “n” really tells you is that you dealing with a neodymium magnet. As already stated the number following the “n” contains a lot more information.

If you don't really understand what neodymium really is, besides that it is used for magnets, we have assembled 10 short and easily understandable facts about neodymium, that should help you get a better understanding of what neodymium is.

10 facts about neodymium

• Neodymium is a chemical element. Its symbol is Nd, and its atomic number is 60.
• Neodymium is a soft silver-like metal
• It tarnishes in when exposed to air
• It was discovered in 1885 by an Austrian chemist called Carl Auer von Welsbach
• It can be found in the ore minerals monazite and bastnäsite.
• It’s a part of the rare earth family
• Most of the worlds commercially used neodymium is mined in China
• First known use of neodymium was as glass dyes back in 1927
• It’s used for some of the strongest magnets in the world
• It melts at 1024 Celcius degrees

Grades of n-magnets

If you have any interest in magnets at all, which I assume you do since you are reading this, you have probably noticed that there are different kinds of neodymium magnet, where all of them starts with an “N”, followed by a number.

The “N”, as we discussed in the above paragraph, simply stands for Neodymium, indicating that the magnet is made with neodymium. The number also tells you something about the magnet. It tells you which grade of strength the magnet contains.

The different grades of n-magnets are as followed: N35, N38, N40, N42, N45, N48, N50, and N52. If we have to be really technical for a second, the number indicates the magnets strength measured in Megagauss Oersted.

But if we have to take it down a notch, to a level where everyone follows, it is simply used to indicate how strong the magnet is. The lowest number, which is N35, is the weakest magnet. The N52, which is the highest number, is also the strongest magnet.

When was the n52 magnet invented?

As I briefly mentioned before, the neodymium was already discovered back in 1885 by the Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach. But it was not until 1984 the element was used the way we know it today, where it is mainly used in magnets.

It’s actually a quite interesting story. Both General Motors, better known as GM, and Sumito Special Metals both independently discovered that the element could be used as magnets in their production.

Hereafter, neodymium has proved to be a very important part of many manufacturing facilities all around the world.

Especially American manufacturers have met problems with their demand of neodymium magnets because Chinese manufacturers have become a dominant force in the worlds neodymium magnet production, which is primarily based on their massive control of a huge part of the entire world's sources of rare earth mines.

The problem is so big, that the United States Department of Energy has started to search funding for substitutions for the rare earth metals, used for magnet technology. Back in 2011, ARPA-E gave 31.6 million dollars to fund the project, which has been named “Rare Earth Substitute Project”.

Production of N-magnets

There are two methods to produce neodymium magnets. One is classical powder metallurgy or sintered magnet process, and the other is a rapid solidification or bonded process.

The sintered magnets are produced by the raw material, where it is melted and made in forms while cooled down. You pulverize and mill the ingots, and sinter it into dense blocks. Hereafter, the blocks are treated with heat, cut into the desired shapes and dimensions, surface treated and last but not least, magnetized.

The other method happens like this: First, they melt spin a thin ribbon of an alloy. Then the ribbon is pulverized and thereafter mixed with a polymer. Next step in the process is compressing or injection-molding it into bonded magnets.

The last method is the least common way to produce magnets, which clearly shows in the volume of production. To compare it, 80,000 tons of magnets are produced each year by the first method, while the other method is only used for producing 5,500 tons.

Neodymium magnets in manufacturing

You may not know this, but magnets are used for much more than everyday use as we know them. Actually, magnets are a relatively big part of manufacturing different kind of goods.

The neodymium magnets are typically used for purposes where a strong magnet is required. Because the neodymium magnets have such great strength, it allows manufacturers to use much smaller and lighter magnets for a lot of applications.

To give you an idea of which, it is for example used in Electric motors, Electric generators for wind turbines, speakers on phones, speakers on headphones and locks.

Within the reason years, the outstanding strength of the neodymium magnets has also inspired other type of manufacturers to use them in their products, including products and applications, where magnets have never been seen before.

To mention one, jewelry clasps and magnetic building sets is both fairly new inventions, where it could not be done without the outstanding strength of the neodymium magnets.

6 Interesting facts about magnetism

1. Magnets will ALWAYS have two poles. Even if you cut a magnet in half, it will simply create two poles again, and at the same time, you will have created two magnets by cutting it in half.
2. The most powerful magnet known to mankind is a star called Magnetar. Magnetars are stars that died and had a supernova explosion. The magnetism of the stars is so massive and strong, that it can crush smaller planets if they get within its reach. Luckily, you don't have to panic and fear that scenario for planet earth, because there are allegedly only a dozen of these, and none of them is close to us.
3. Earth is much like one gigantic magnet. It even has two poles, which is the south and north pole. Amazing, right?
4. MRI machines use magnets that are capable of creating magnetic fields 60,000 times stronger than the field earth can create.
5. Studies have shown that animals can be affected by magnetism. Bees can, for example, feel magnetic field. Sharks can be repelled by them, and both birds and turtles can navigate by magnets.
6. The concept of magnets is REALLY old. Magnets as we know it, may not be so old, but Asian culture supposedly used lodestones, which is a natural kind of magnet, in ancient times.

I hope you enjoyed this post, thank you for reading!