Back أكسيد الحديد الثنائي والثلاثي Arabic اوکسید دمیر (II, III) AZB Oxid železnato-železitý Czech Eisen(II,III)-oxid German Iron(II,III) oxide English Óxido de hierro(II, III) Spanish اکسید آهن (II, III) Persian Rauta(II,III)oksidi Finnish Oxyde de fer(II,III) French आयरन(II,III) ऑक्साइड Hindi
Iron(II,III) oxide is one of the iron oxides, chemical compounds made of iron and oxygen. It is found in nature as the mineral magnetite. It can be a black powder or brittle black solid. Magnetite mining is one of the world's main sources of iron.
A reaction with chemicals like water or oxygen makes it change into red iron(III) oxide over time.
Magnetite is attracted to magnets, and can be made into a permanent magnet. Some magnetite is naturally magnetic, and is called lodestone. The first magnets found by people were made of magnetite, and magnetism is named after it. Though people made better materials like alnico to make stronger magnets, magnetite is still used in a lot of magnets and other electronics because it is cheap. The black color of old cassette tapes and floppy disks is because of a thin layer of magnetite powder on the plastic tape used to store information.