Any material capable of attracting iron and producing a magnetic field outside itself is called magnetic. By the end of the 19th century, all known elements and many compounds had been tested for magnetism, and all were found to have some magnetic property. However, only three elements--iron, nickel, and cobalt--exhibit ferromagnetism. These metals can be transformed into parmanent magnets wherein they retain theeir magnetic properties indefinitely. This is possible due to the parmanent alignment of the atoms such that their magnetic fields add up to give a total powerful field in and around the magnet.