
plating, anodizing, & finishing Q&As since 1989
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Can a magnet cause a metal to increase it's corrosion rate
February 2, 2010
Q. I am in a corrosion class and I thought about using magnets that can cause corrosion as my project this semester. my thought was with magnets either being positive or negative they could possibly change the pos and neg ions in an atom to increase a corrosion rate or maybe even slow the corrosion rate down as a preventative measure. is this possible?
Scott Ricestudent - Kilgore, Texas
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February 3, 2010 A. Boats use zincs to do exactly that. Buried pipelines use zinc or magnesium placed periodically to provide a tiny current that will corrode the material and protect the pipeline. - Navarre, Florida February 4, 2010
Aerospace - Yeovil, Somerset, UK |
A. For a magnet to produce a voltage you need a conductor that moves and cuts the magnetic field. A steady magnet will not generate any voltage. Perhaps your experiment has a source of movement.
Guillermo MarrufoMonterrey, NL, Mexico

Re: the question - Can a magnet cause a metal to increase its corrosion rate?
I attached a Rare Earth (Neodymium) Magnet to the inside of my van's steel side panel and after a year, a ring of rust appeared on the outside.
Inexpert observation - Sydney Australia
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