The Curie Temperature is named after Pierre Curie, the French physicist who discovered the phenomenon. It refers to the temperature beyond which a ferromagnetic substance exhibits paramagnetism. A ferromagnetic substance is one which has magnetic properties similar to iron, and is capable of possessing a magnetic field in the absence of an external field. Paramagnetic materials have a magnetic field which is proportional to an applied, external field and can be influenced by the external field. In magneto-optical disc drives, the recording media is heated above the Curie Temperature, so that the data on it may be altered by the magnetic head.
