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Visit Stack ExchangeMost metals are paramagnetic because metals have a lot of unpaired electrons. While carbon is a nonmetal, because graphite has a lot of unsaturated bonds, those pi electrons can move freely just like metals. As a result, graphite should be a good paramagnet. Yet graphite is one of the best diamagnets and the only material that can be levitated by permanent magnets under room temperature. So what causes the large diamagnetism of graphite?
