A Rare-Earth Magnet is a special permanent Magnet made out of the elements located in the Lanthanides and Actinides series of the Periodic Table. These rare-earth elements are combined with more common elements to form compounds that possess very powerful Ferromagnetic properties. The Magnetic Field produced by these rare-earth permanent magnets can be well over 12,000 Gauss which is much stronger in magnitude compared to the more commonly used Ferrite or ceramic magnets which only exhibit around 500 to 1,000 Gauss. The most powerful and affordable type of rare-earth magnet is called a Neodymium magnet which is made up of Neodymium, Iron and Boron (Nd₂Fe₁₄B). These magnets can be most commonly found in almost every computer Hard Drive as well as in various types of Speakers. Another type of rare-earth magnet that is much less common is made out of Samarium and Cobalt, called a Samarium-cobalt magnet (SmCo₅). This type of magnet is relatively more expensive than a Neodymium magnet and is less powerful. Some other applications of rare-earth magnets include experiments with diamagnetic levitation (see Diamagnetism), the study of magnetic field dynamics, superconductor levitation (see Meissner effect and Superconductivity) as well as countless other magnetic applications. Magnetic lines of force of a bar magnet shown by iron filings on paper A magnet is an object that has a magnetic field. ... The lanthanide series is the 14 rare earth chemical elements which lie between lanthanum and ytterbium on the periodic table. ... The actinide series encompasses the 14 chemical elements that lie between actinium and nobelium on the periodic table with atomic numbers 89 - 102 inclusive. ... The periodic table of the chemical elements, also called the Mendeleev periodic table, is a tabular display of the known chemical elements. ... Ferromagnetism is a phenomenon by which a material can exhibit a spontaneous magnetization, and is one of the strongest forms of magnetism. ... Current flowing through a wire produces a magnetic field (M) around the wire. ... The gauss, abbreviated as G, is the cgs unit of magnetic flux density or magnetic induction (B), named after the German mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauss. ... Ferrite may refer to: (1) ferromagnetic ceramic materials, used in magnetic applications; (2) iron or iron alloys with a body centred cubic crystal structure. ... Neodymium magnet on a bracket from a hard drive A neodymium magnet (also, but less specifically, called a rare-earth magnet) is a powerful magnet made of a combination of neodymium, iron, and boron -- Nd2Fe14B. These magnets are very strong in comparison to their mass, but are also mechanically fragile... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... A loudspeaker is a device which converts an electrical signal into sound. ... Samarium-cobalt magnets (SmCo5) are composed of samarium, cobalt and iron. ... Diamagnetism is a very weak form of magnetism that is only exhibited in the presence of an external magnetic field. ... Diagram of the Meissner effect. ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor with boiling liquid nitrogen underneath demonstrates the Meissner effect. ...