Reed Relays and
Electronics India Limited
Manufacturer of Reed Switches, Reed Sensors and Reed-based products
Reed Relays and Electronics India Limited Incorporated in 1971
×

Magnetic Permeability

Magnetic Permeability

Magnetic Permeability is the ability of a material to get magnetized in the presence of a magnetic field. The reed blades of a reed switch are made of a Nickel-Iron alloy which are magnetically permeable and this is what causes the reed blades to attract each other in the presence of a magnetic field. Our reed switches undergo a special annealing process to ensure excellent permeability and low magnetic remanence.


In electromagnetism, permeability is the measure of magnetization produced in a material in response to an applied magnetic field. Permeability is typically represented by the (italicized) Greek letter μ. It is the ratio of the magnetic induction to the magnetizing field as a function of the field in a material. The term was coined by William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin in 1872, and used alongside permittivity by Oliver Heaviside in 1885. The reciprocal of permeability is magnetic reluctivity.

In SI units, permeability is measured in henries per meter (H/m), or equivalently in newtons per ampere squared (N/A2). The permeability constant μ0, also known as the magnetic constant or the permeability of free space, is the proportionality between magnetic induction and magnetizing force when forming a magnetic field in a classical vacuum.

A closely related property of materials is magnetic susceptibility, which is a dimensionless proportionality factor that indicates the degree of magnetization of a material in response to an applied magnetic field.

« Back to Glossary Index