Ferri-magnetism is a phenomenon exhibited by materials such as Ferrites, having parallel but opposite alignment of neighboring atoms. The resulting opposing moments are unequal and the material tends to exhibit a form of weak Ferro-magnetism.
In physics, a ferrimagnetic material is one that has populations of atoms with opposing magnetic moments, as in antiferromagnetism; however, in ferrimagnetic materials, the opposing moments are unequal and a spontaneous magnetization remains. This happens when the populations consist of different materials or ions (such as Fe2+ and Fe3+).
Ferrimagnetism is exhibited by ferrites and magnetic garnets. The oldest known magnetic substance, magnetite (iron(II,III) oxide; Fe3O4), is a ferrimagnet; it was originally classified as a ferromagnet before Néel's discovery of ferrimagnetism and antiferromagnetism in 1948.
Known ferrimagnetic materials include yttrium iron garnet (YIG); cubic ferrites composed of iron oxides with other element(s) such as aluminum, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and zinc; and hexagonal ferrites such as PbFe12O19 and BaFe12O19 and pyrrhotite, Fe1−xS.
