Disclosure: Some of the links you’ll encounter are affiliate links. If you click and buy something, I’ll get a commission. If you’re reading a review of some precious metals company, please understand that some of the links are affiliate links that help me pay my bills and write about what I love with no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Palladium isn’t magnetic. It’s paramagnetic. It has an extremely weak magnetic attraction ensuring pure-palladium items remain immune to magnets of any size and strength.
Palladium is paramagnetic due to the presence of unpaired electrons in its electronic structure, specifically in the 4d orbitals.
However, palladium alloyed with magnetic and ferromagnetic metals exhibits magnetic properties.
Learn more right below.
- Why is Palladium not Magnetic?
- Is Palladium 999 Magnetic or Not?
- Is Palladium 950 Magnetic or Not?
- Is Palladium 500 Magnetic or Not?
- How to Test Palladium for Magnetism?
- Is Raw Palladium Magnetic?
Here’s an awesome quiz about palladium magnetic properties. Take it after you’ve read my guide for your best results.
Table of Contents
Why is Palladium not Magnetic?
Palladium isn’t magnetic because its electron configuration doesn’t align in a way that allows for a strong, sustained magnetic moment within the material.
Palladium is technically a “paramagnetic” material which means it’s weakly attracted to a magnetic field. The magnetic effects are negligible in pure palladium due to the way its electrons are arranged within its atomic structure.
Palladium becomes magnetic under certain, rare circumstances. It becomes magnetic when formed into nanoparticles, subjected to high pressure, or when combined with other elements in specific structures.
Palladium also becomes magnetic when pure palladium is alloyed with magnetic or ferromagnetic metals. See below for more details.
Is Palladium 999 Magnetic or Not?
Palladium 999 isn’t magnetic, it’s paramagnetic. This means it has an extremely weak magnetic attraction ensuring that pure-palladium items remain immune to magnets of any size and strength.
Note: a palladium bar, coin or jewelry item marked “999” is 99.9% pure. This is the palladium bullion type you can include in your palladium IRA account.
[/wps_note]
There are plenty of gold IRA scams on the market and you want to make sure you buy genuine palladium bullion when investing your retirement savings.
I recommend you check out Augusta Precious Metals if you’re looking to open a gold IRA account or silver IRA account.
Augusta Precious Metals is a safe gold investment company from the United States that sells a wide variety of IRA-approved precious metal bullion, including IRA-eligible palladium bullion.
They also allow you to buy physical precious metals outside of your IRA account.
Is Palladium 950 Magnetic or Not?
Palladium 950 isn’t magnetic. It’s paramagnetic.
Palladium 950 becomes magnetic when 95% of pure palladium is alloyed with 5% of ferromagnetic materials and metals like iron, cobalt, nickel and some stainless steel forms.
But in that case the magnetic effect will be weak and you’ll need a strong magnet to get a noticeable reaction from your 95% purity palladium object.
Is Palladium 500 Magnetic or Not?
Palladium 500 isn’t magnetic when 50% of pure palladium is alloyed with 50% of other non-magnetic metals (gold, silver, palladium…).
Palladium 500 becomes magnetic when 50% of pure palladium is alloyed with 50% of ferromagnetic materials and metals like iron, cobalt, nickel and some stainless steel forms.
In that case 50% of ferromagnetic metals within the palladium 500 alloy is enough to elicit a strong magnetic reaction, especially when you point a strong magnet at your jewelry piece.
How to Test Palladium for Magnetism?
You can test palladium for magnetism right from the comfort of your home.
Get a strong magnet and hover it over the palladium object you’re testing.
Pure-palladium item won’t be magnetized.
Your palladium item is either fake or thinly plated with this metal (with a magnetic or ferromagnetic base metal) if it gets attracted to the magnet and sticks to it.
There’s more to testing palladium for authenticity than just using magnets (click on the link above to learn more).
Remember, it’s good for the palladium magnet test to be negative. It means you palladium coins, bars, or jewelry is real.
Is Raw Palladium Magnetic?
No, raw palladium isn’t magnetic. It’s paramagnetic. This means it’s weakly attracted to a magnet but doesn’t readily stick to it on its own.
Raw palladium extracted from the ground is often contaminated with ferrous metal particles, but it’s never the huge amount needed to cause a magnetic reaction.
Is Palladium Magnetic or Not (Conclusion)?
Pure palladium isn’t magnetic.
Palladium is a “paramagnetic” material. This means it’s weakly attracted to a magnetic field and doesn’t retain any magnetism once the field is removed.
Palladium-made items become magnetic when they’re made of alloy of pure palladium and ferromagnetic material and metals (iron, nickel, cobalt and some forms of stainless steel).
Palladium remains paramagnetic when it’s alloyed with yellow gold (yellow gold is diamagnetic), pure silver (pure silver is diamagnetic) and pure platinum (pure platinum is paramagnetic).
References:
- Electrical and magnetic properties of palladium hydrides compared with those of pure palladium- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0022508876900369
- Will a Palladium ring be attracted to magnets?- https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/8hp0hj/will_a_palladium_ring_be_attracted_to_magnets/
- Which precious metals are magnetic?- https://www.quora.com/Which-precious-metals-are-magnetic
- Magnetism in Palladium Experimental Results in View of Theoretic Predictions- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-010-0349-0_42
- Ultrathin platinum films become magnetic when subjected to an electric field- https://phys.org/news/2014-01-ultrathin-platinum-magnetic-subjected-electric.html
- Magnetic Properties of the Platinum Metals and Their Alloys- https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ba-1971-0098.ch001
- The Magnetic Moment of the Palladium Atom- https://journals.aps.org/pr/abstract/10.1103/PhysRev.38.360
- Palladium- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palladium
- 1 Oz Palladium Bar- https://www.swissbullion.eu/en/product/1-ounce-palladium-bullion-bar-999-5-fine
- Help with these Palladium 950 Hallmarks- https://www.reddit.com/r/Hallmarks/comments/1g6o106/help_with_these_palladium_950_hallmarks/
Nikola Roza
Nikola Roza is a blogger behind Nikola Roza- SEO for the Poor and Determined. He writes for bloggers who don't have huge marketing budget but still want to succeed. Nikola is passionate about precious metals IRAs and how to invest in gold and silver for a safer financial future. Learn about Nikola here.
