Super Strong Magnets I've seen the size of electric motors get smaller over the past 10-15 years...especially those used in small remote control vehicles like helicopters.  I heard that the magnets being used in the motors are special exotic materials like neodymium. What is present at the atomic- and/or molecular-level which makes these materials have such strong magnetic properties? 
 A: Googling "Why are neodymium magnets so strong" led me to the following explanation:

Neodymium may the rare earth metal neodymium magnets are named for,
  but the magnets themselves are actually an alloy of iron, boron and
  neodymium. The magnet's chemical composition is typically Nd2Fe14B, a
  composition that forms a tetragonal crystal structure. This structure
  has what is called exceptionally high uniaxial magnetocrystalline
  anisotropy--as high as HA~7 Tesla. In layman's terms, this means
  neodymium magnets' atoms are arranged in such a way as that the
  electron spin is permanently and very strongly aligned in a given
  direction, giving the compound the extreme magnetic force for which
  it's famous.

It sounds plausible - a combination of atomic and crystal structure properties makes lots of little current loops "point the same way". I realize this is just the start of an answer: why atoms in this configuration want to align their electron orbitals in this way requires a deeper quantum-mechanical explanation - I will leave it to others to provide that, but you might find http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=mechengdiss a good starting point.
Source of quote: http://www.ehow.com/about_5297656_neodymium-magnets-strong.html
