1. Plural of coercivity; the intensity of an applied magnetic field required to reduce the magnetization of a ferromagnetic material to zero after the material has been magnetized to saturation.
Usage: technical; physics; materials science

Examples

• The coercivities of different steel alloys vary depending on their composition and heat treatment.
• Engineers measured the coercivities of the magnetic samples using a vibrating sample magnetometer.
• Higher coercivities are desirable in permanent magnets used in electric motors.
• The study compared the coercivities of iron oxide nanoparticles at different temperatures.
• Coercivities of soft magnetic materials are typically much lower than those of hard magnetic materials.