Determining magnetic susceptibilities of everyday materials using an electronic balance

The magnetic properties of an object and its interaction with an external magnetic field can be described through the magnetic (volume) susceptibility chi(V), which divides nearly all kinds of matter into diamagnetic, paramagnetic, and ferromagnetic substances. Quantitative measurements of chi(V) are usually technically sophisticated or require the investigation of substances with high values of chi(V) to reveal meaningful results. Here, we show that both diamagnetic and paramagnetic effects in everyday materials can be measured using only an electronic balance and a neodymium magnet, both of which are within the reach of typical introductory college and high school physics classrooms. The experimental results match related literature values remarkably well.