Is the iron in your blood magnetic?

Answer 1

No, the dosage of iron in your blood is far to small to cause a magnetic pull. Its amount would be somewhere in the atomic level. Iron itself is not inherently magnetic, in that it does not create a magnetic field unless it has been formed inside of one. Being ferrous however, it will react to a magnetic field placed around it. The amount of iron in your blood being so small means that any amount of pull is not noticeable. Technical notes : When a material is placed within a magnetic field, the magnetic forces of the material's electrons will be affected. However, materials can react quite differently to the presence of an external magnetic field. Diamagnetic materials are slightly repelled by a magnetic field and the material does not retain the magnetic properties when the external field is removed. Paramagneticmetals have a small and positive susceptibility to magnetic fields. These materials are slightly attracted by a magnetic field and the material does not retain the magnetic properties when the external field is removed. Ferromagnetic materials have a large and positive susceptibility to an external magnetic field. They exhibit a strong attraction to magnetic fields and are able to retain their magnetic properties after the external field has been removed. Oxygenated arterial blood contains oxygenated haemoglobin, which is diamagnetic and has a small magnetic susceptibility effect. Deoxygenation of haemoglobin produces deoxyhaemoglobin, a significantly more paramagnetic species of iron due to the four unpaired electrons, and this species disturbs the local magnetic field, in a region of tissue leading to the large observed magnetic susceptibility effect.

Answer 2

Actually, there isn't very much iron in our blood: only one atom bonded to each hemoglobin molecule, and only about 4 grams total, in an entire human body.

The bonding of the iron makes the reaction to magnets, very complex in human bodies. While these atoms can be slightly affected by very strong magnetic fields, as in MRI machines, ordinary magnets have virtually no effect on these iron atoms or the molecules that they are associated with.

To be attracted by an ordinary magnet, a great quantity of iron atoms have to be together and aligned in close association, to react strongly to the magnetic field. When this happens, a magnetic domain is established and the attraction can be quite strong.

However, the iron in our blood can't react in this way to magnetic fields. The complex bonding of the iron atom and the great size of the hemoglobin molecule disallow close association of the iron atoms and the alignment of the iron atoms to the magnetic field. That is the reason why the iron in our blood is not attracted to ordinary magnets.

Answer 3

Iron is attracted by a magnetic force. Rust, a combination of iron and oxygen, is not attracted by a magnetic force.

The iron in your body is essentially rust . . . that's why blood is red in color. Since the iron in your blood is not even partly pure iron, there is no magnetic attraction to it by any magnet.

Answer 4

No. The iron in blood is composed of single atoms, not crystals, so it is not big enough to form magnetic domains.

Answer 5

No. Only ferromagnetic materials are acted upon by magnetic force. Iron in hemoglobin exists as solitary atoms surrounded by other molecules, and this is not ferromagnetic.

Answer 6

I think it is, but there isn't enough iron in your whole body to get magnetic.