 Curie temperature

The Curie temperature is the transition temperature above which a ferromagnetic material loses spontaneous magnetization. A hot conducting planetary core can generate a magnetic field through dynamo action without behaving as a permanent magnet. The blocking temperature at which a mineral records crustal remanence also depends on its relaxation timescale and need not equal its Curie temperature.

The Curie temperature, often denoted as \( T_C \), is the temperature at which certain materials, particularly ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic substances, undergo a phase transition from a magnetically ordered state to a disordered state. Below the Curie temperature, these materials exhibit spontaneous magnetization, meaning they have a net magnetic moment due to the alignment of their magnetic domains.