Silicon steel is widely used for-

Explanation

Concept: Silicon steel is an important soft magnetic material is used nowadays. It is a ferritic alloy of iron and silicon that has magnetic properties which makes it useful in the electrical industry (generators, motors, and transformers). In Si-steel, the Si is added in Fe up to 5% The effects of adding silicon are: Permeability increases Resistivity increases Hysteresis losses decrease As Si is semi-conductor and Fe is a conductor so resistivity ρ Fe < ρ Si . As resistivity increases the eddy current loss decreases. Hence silicon steel is used in electrical machines. The earlier magnetic material used was iron but it contains many impurities. So silicon is added to steel to improve its soundness, i.e. free from defects, decays, or damages.