MAGNETIC SHIELD CORPORATION FAQs

E: [email protected] P: (630)-766-7800 F: 630-766-2813 www.magnetic-shield.com

Official MAGNETIC SHIELD CORPORATION Document
Magnetic Fields & Shields Overview
What is a magnetic field?
Typically, most people have been exposed to the phenomena
created when you lay a bar magnet on a table, place a piece
of glass over it and sprinkle iron filings on the glass. What
turns up is a pattern of lines formed by the iron filings going
from one end of the magnet to the other. Although a magnetic
field isn't truly comprised of lines, the iron filings give a good
visual representation of the bar magnet's magnetic field.
You may have also noticed that further away from the magnet
there weren't as many lines and close to the magnet they
were quite concentrated. This is a good demonstration of one
of the best magnetic shielding methods available. Move the
source of the magnetic field away from the item to be
shielded or move the item away from the field. Even if it isn't
practical to remove the item from the field any increased
separation will lower the strength of the field to be shielded.

Looking again at the bar magnet, imagine placing an item
(something you wish to shield) into the magnetic field (lines of
iron filings). There will be a certain number of lines
penetrating the item depending on where you placed it. Now if
you were to leave the item at the same location but increased
its size the number of lines penetrating the object also
increases. What this means is that even if the strength of the
magnetic field stays constant the amount (perhaps you can
think of it as volume) of the field an item is exposed to will
influence shield design.
A magnetic field cannot be seen, heard, or felt. All magnetic
fields result from a source of magnetic flux, which might be
the Earth, a motor, transformer or electric power line, or even
a bar magnet. Usually magnetic fields are created electrically.
Electro magnetic shielding is necessary to isolate sensitive
apparatus from these electro magnetic fields.
We can sense magnetic fields with measuring instruments,
called Gaussmeters, or something simpler, like a compass
(for DC fields) or a pickup coil (for AC fields). The first step to
developing an effective magnetic shield is to measure the
intensity of the field surrounding the area to be shielded.
Will a magnetic shield block the field's effects?
There is no known material that blocks magnetic fields
without itself being attracted to the magnetic force. Magnetic
fields can only be redirected, not created or removed. To do
this, high-permeability shielding alloys are used. The
magnetic field lines are strongly attracted into the shielding
material. There are many types of shielding materials, Their
alloy composition is a highly guarded secret, based on years
of extensive research and application. CO-NETIC-AA,
NETIC S3-6 and MuMETAL are three unique shielding
materials provided by Magnetic Shield Corp.
Should the source of interference or the sensitive device
be shielded?
The answer to this question depends on several factors.
Shielding the source may involve stronger fields, and
therefore thicker materials. One must be sure that all
interference sources are shielded, or the sensitive device will
still be affected. The usual approach is to shield the sensitive
device. This prevents interference from both present and
future sources. Many electro magnetic shielding solutions
begin with our Magnetic Shielding Lab Kit. This kit enables a
"hands-on" approach to solving a shielding problem.
Howcan I shield one magnet so it doesn't interact with
another that is close by?
All commercially available magnetic shielding materials are
ferromagnetic. This means they are attracted by a magnet
just like iron or steel. Ferromagnetic materials are necessary
MAGNETIC SHIELD CORPORATION FAQs
E: [email protected] P: (630)-766-7800 F: 630-766-2813 www.magnetic-shield.com
because shields work by pulling the magnetic field towards
them and away from what needs to be shielded. The
magnetic field will actually become concentrated within the
shield itself, but the field will still exist.
If two magnets are close enough together to attract each
other and a ferromagnetic material is placed between them
both magnets are now attracted to the shield. The net effect is
that both magnets are still being attracted in the same
direction prior to the shield being put in place.
Now turn one of the magnets around so they are repelling
each other and then place ferromagnetic material between
them. Again the magnets are attracted to the shield and will
stick to it. With a thick enough piece of material the poles may
actually be directed facing each other. With a thinner piece
the magnets will be offset from each other, but will still stick to
the shield.
What is the difference between RF and Magnetic
shielding?
Radio frequency (or RF) shielding is required when it is
necessary to block high frequency - 100 kilohertz and above -
interference fields. These shields typically use copper,
aluminum, galvanized steel, or conductive rubber, plastic or
paints. These materials work at high frequencies by means of
their high conductivity, and little or no magnetic permeability.
Magnetic shields use their high permeability to attract
magnetic fields and divert the magnetic energy through
themselves. With proper construction, magnetic shielding
alloys have the ability to function as broadband shields,
shielding both rf and magnetic interference fields.
What is the difference between DC and AC fields?
DC fields are non-varying, or perhaps slowly changing. A DC
field might be from the Earth, a permanent magnet, or a coil
carrying direct current. AC magnetic fields oscillate in
direction at a frequency. The most common AC magnetic
fields are 60 Hertz fields emitted by electric power equipment.
These are typically referred to as EMI or electro-magnetic
interference.
What are the frequency ranges of electromagnetic
interference?
EMI (electro magnetic interference) can be roughly classified
by the frequency of the interfering signal. Although some
users may consider differing break points, approximate
ranges are:
Microwave (MW) 300 MHz - 300 Ghz
Radiofrequency (RF) 300 Hz - 300 MHz
Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) 30 Hz - 300 Hz
The ELF range includes the 60 Hertz power line frequency
commonly used in the United States and many countries. In
other countries and regions, the power line frequency is 50
Hertz.
The radio frequency range is quite broad, and includes some
lower frequencies that can be effectively shielded by
magnetic shielding alloys and constructions. At the highest
frequencies, shield techniques include much greater need for
tight seams and space-filling conductive gaskets at joints.
To clarify, look at the definitions of terms sometime
encountered in EMI (electromagnetic interference) control, in
the following table:
Term Definition
ELF Extremely Low Frequency.
Typically used to describe magnetic fields in the
power line frequency range - 50 or 60 Hertz
EMF Electromotive Force or Electromagnetic Field.
Describes the presence of magnetic field energy
and its intensity and distribution.
EMF Protection Providing shielding to prevent exposure to
magnetic flux fields and reduce their effects
Howare magnetic fields measured?
The traditional CGS units for measuring magnetic fields are
Gauss and Oersted. Magnetic flux density is measured in
Gauss, while magnetic field intensity is measured in Oersted.
The ratio of B, magnetic flux, in Gauss, to H, magnetic field, in
Oersted, is defined as permeability, "" (pronounced "mew").
The B/H ratio, or "", is a measure of the material's
properties. It is high for ferromagnetic materials. In air,
however, Gauss and Oersted are identical numerically. The
modern S/I or Metric system prefers the Tesla and Ampere-
turns/meter units for magnetic flux density and magnetic field
intensity, respectively. Conversions are shown in the table
below.
MAGNETIC SHIELD CORPORATION FAQs
E: [email protected] P: (630)-766-7800 F: 630-766-2813 www.magnetic-shield.com
Property CGS unit S/I Unit Conversion
Magnetic Flux Line
(or Maxwell)
Weber 1 Weber =
10
8
Lines
Flux Density (B) Gauss Tesla 1 Tesla =
10
4
Gauss
Magnetomotive
force
Gilbert Ampere-turn 1 Gilbert = 0.796
ampere-turn
Magnetizing
Force Field (H)
Oersted Ampere-
turn/ meter
1 Oersted =
79.577
ampere-turn/meter
Permeability Gauss/
Oersted
Weber/
m-ampere-
turns

Often prefixes are used to make the quantities more
manageable. For instance, we may speak of magnetic fields
in milliGauss, where 1000 milliGauss (mG) are equal to one
Gauss. Because a Tesla is a large amount of magnetic flux,
fields are often described in mT (milliTesla) or T
(microTesla). 10 milliGauss are equal to one micro-Tesla.
You may notice that the magnetic fields are sometimes
described in technical literature as fields and sometimes as
magnetic flux. In air, the magnitudes of magnetic field (in
Oersted) and magnetic flux (in Gauss) are numerically equal,
so the terms are sometimes used imprecisely, leading to such
confusion. In air, relative permeability, r, is equal to one, so
the numerical magnitudes are the same.