Iron(III) oxide

Properties

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Iron(III) oxide - also known as ferric oxide, red iron oxide, synthetic maghemite, or rust - is one of several oxide compounds of iron, and is most notable for its ferromagnetic properties. Its chemical formula is Fe2O3.

Related Topics:
Oxide - Compound - Iron - Ferromagnetic - Chemical formula - O

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The mineral form of ferric oxide is hematite; it is mined as the main ore of iron.

Related Topics:
Mineral - Hematite

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Iron(III) oxide is often used in magnetic storage, for example in the magnetic layer of floppy disks. These consist of a thin sheet of Mylar® plastic, coated with iron(III) oxide. The particles can be magnetised to represent binary data. MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) also uses iron(III) oxide compounds, suspended in an ink which can be read by special scanning hardware.

Related Topics:
Magnetic storage - Floppy disk - Mylar® - Binary - MICR - Ink

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The majority of recorded information on earth (such as text and photographs) is stored in the form of magnetization patterns on a thin layer of iron(III) oxide. This is probably because the cost per bit of iron-based magnetic media is currently far less than the cost per bit of any known alternative, such as optical discs, paper books, or microfilm.

Related Topics:
Text - Photograph - Optical disc - Paper - Book - Microfilm

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More text and photos are stored on magnetic media

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than all the paper books and paper photographs in the world?

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FIXME: justify this with a link to the Library of Congress or similar site.

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