Written by: Chris Hamlett
Ferrofluids are tiny nanoparticles that contain iron and are suspended in a liquid (known as colloidal suspension).
They can be moved by using a magnet and line up with the magnetic field – in a similar way to how how iron filings move (you may have tried this at home or in the classroom).
How do they work?
Unlike iron filings the particles in ferrofluids are so small* that they flow like a liquid and form beautifully, well defined spike patterns when they align with a
magnetic field.
*about 3-15 nm in size – where 1 nm is one billionth of a metre or about 1/1000th of the width of a human hair!
What are they used for?
Ferrofluids were developed by Nasa in the 1960s to help move fuel around in spacecraft but have also been studied for use in medicine and even as liquid robots!
For a pdf version of this please click Discover Smart Materials – Ferrofluids v3.
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