im thinking of iron, but there must be some more magnetic materials that are commonly used?
Silicon Steel is the most commonly used today. Steel and Iron was used in cores. In Google books there are more technical calculations to be read on this subject.
no longer an common question to reply to. Many bigger homes have stainless steel window frames and trim. chrome steel is extremely weakly magnetic. Many homes have aluminum window frames and trim. The construction may well be ninety 5% iron by utilising weight, yet that's all inner invisible structural beams, often coated by utilising concrete for hearth-proofing and larger capability. you desire to to think approximately that magnetic fields have very limited selection. The capability drops off by way of fact the cube of the area, so something over an inch or so away and there is negligible rigidity. Mst autos and turbines have gaps measured in thousandths of an inch.