Soft magnetic materials are a class of materials that exhibit high permeability and low coercive force. These properties make them ideal for applications where the material needs to quickly and easily magnetize and demagnetize. Soft magnetic materials are commonly used in transformers, inductors, and magnetic shielding.

High Permeability:

- Soft magnetic materials have a high permeability, which means they can easily establish magnetic fields in response to an external magnetic field. Permeability is a measure of how easily a material can be magnetized. It indicates how well a material can concentrate magnetic flux lines. The higher the permeability, the better a material can concentrate magnetic flux.

- Soft magnetic materials have a high permeability because their atomic structure allows for easy alignment of magnetic domains. Magnetic domains are regions within a material where the atomic magnetic moments are aligned in the same direction. In soft magnetic materials, these domains can easily change their alignment in response to an external magnetic field, leading to high permeability.

Low Coercive Force:

- Soft magnetic materials also have a low coercive force, which means it takes very little energy to magnetize or demagnetize them. Coercive force is the measure of the material's resistance to changes in its magnetization.

- Soft magnetic materials have a low coercive force because their atomic structure allows for easy realignment of magnetic domains. This means that when an external magnetic field is applied, the domains quickly align with the field, resulting in a high magnetic response. When the external field is removed, the domains quickly return to their original orientation, resulting in low residual magnetism.

- The low coercive force of soft magnetic materials makes them suitable for applications where the magnetic field needs to be rapidly switched on and off, such as in transformers or inductors.

In summary, soft magnetic materials have high permeability and low coercive force. These properties allow them to easily establish magnetic fields in response to an external field and quickly magnetize and demagnetize, making them ideal for applications in transformers, inductors, and magnetic shielding.