how does electricity or magnet make iron / steel magnetic?

Answer 1

The particles tend to align themsleves with the magnetic 'flow' ... kind of like leaving a boat tied to shore but in a current. Eventually, the bow will point upstream toward the flow (and the point to which it's tied!), while the stern points downstream.

Once the particles get aligned, they tend to stay that way ... thereby creating their own 'magnetic' effect.

Some materials have more ferrous particles than others, which is why some are easier to magnetize than others!

By the way - electrons are not 'magnetic' particles. They are subatomic particles that carry an overall negative electrical charge. Electrons don't get influenced by magnetic fields.

It has been found that an electric current sets up a magnetic field similar to that produced by a permanent magnet. This action is known as Electromagnetism and is very important in many devices. A desirable feature of electromagnetism is that it is possible to control the strength and polarity of the magnetic field. When current exists in a coil, the coil has all the magnetic qualities of a permanent magnet and is called an Electromagnet. If this electromagnet is brought near a permanent magnet or another electromagnet, the like and unlike poles react exactly as explained for the permanent magnets. Moreover, an increase of current in the coil increases the strength of the magnetic field, and a decrease of current weakens the field.

Earlier it was stated that iron and steel have low reluctance and carry magnetic lines of force much more readily than air and certain other materials. To increase the magnetic field of a coil, it is common practice to insert a piece of iron through the center of the coil. This piece of iron is called the core, and it's low reluctance permits passage of many more magnetic lines of force through it than the surrounding air will carry. It tends to concentrate the coil's magnetic field.

The magnetic behavior of a coil carrying electric current can be summed up in the following three statements:

Whenever current is present in a coil of wire, a magnetic field is set up in and around the coil, which then exibits all of the properties of a magnet.

The strength of the magnetic field varies with the number of turns and the current. With no current, there is no magnetism.

An iron core, placed inside the coil, permits a large increase in the strength of the magnetic field by providing a magnetic circuit with less reluctance than air

Answer 2

Iron and steel are both 'ferrous' materials ... this means that they have particles which can be affected by a magnetic field.

The particles tend to align themsleves with the magnetic 'flow' ... kind of like leaving a boat tied to shore but in a current. Eventually, the bow will point upstream toward the flow (and the point to which it's tied!), while the stern points downstream.

Once the particles get aligned, they tend to stay that way ... thereby creating their own 'magnetic' effect.

Some materials have more ferrous particles than others, which is why some are easier to magnetize than others!

By the way - electrons are not 'magnetic' particles. They are subatomic particles that carry an overall negative electrical charge. Electrons don't get influenced by magnetic fields.

Answer 3

It changes the structure of the magnetic elements (electrons) inside the block of that material.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/magnetic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ferromagnetic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/paramagnetic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/diamagnetic
edit: Electrons are magnetic elements, maybe ONLY in a sense. They have a magnetic spin (they rotate either clockwise or anti-clockwise -Pauli's principle plays a role). In metals electrons are able to "flow" in a "sea" of positive charges (=protons), gathering in areas. The pattern of their concentration in the mass causes a type of possible magnetism. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic#Physics_of_magnetism
Moving electric charges are associated with magnetic fields.