Magnetism is a property of matter and it occurs in different forms and degrees in various conductors and insulators. For example, at low temperatures, metallic systems exhibit either superconducting or magnetic order. The degree of magnetism of a substance is due to the intrinsic magnetic dipole moment of its electrons. The degree of magnetism is also called magnetization and it is defined as the net magnetic dipole moment of the substance per unit volume. The magnitude of the magnetic dipole moment of an electron is given by the Bohr magneton, m = 9.27 x10-24 Am2 . Magnetization is further defined by measuring a quantity called the magnetic susceptibility.

In the nineteenth century, Michael Faraday was the first to start classifying substances according to their magnetic properties. Faraday classified them as either diamagnetic or paramagnetic and he based his classification on the force exerted on...